Financing woes have characterized the construction of Mzimba-Eswazini-Mzarangwe whose construction commenced in the year 2018.
According to information sourced on Roads Authority (RA) website, the estimated implementation time for the project was Eighteen (18) calendar months.
However, sources say for the past two years, construction of the has been enshrouded in protracted “financing issues” which have led to the stalling of the project for the past two years.
The 45 kilometer road is being constructed by a Chinese firm Zhejiang Communications Construction Group Co Limited (ZCCC) to a tune of K11 Billion.
The initial plan at design stage was to construct the road to bitumen standard.
Commenting on the importance of the road, economist Ernest Manda, described the road as one of the key roads in the Northern Region of Malawi as a trade route for movement of people, goods and services.
“It is very unfortunate that this project keeps on moving at a snail’s pace at the expense of many other repo effects that it could have brought to the northern region and the country as a whole,” lamented Manda.
According to the design, the road will comprise a 6.0-metre wide carriageway and 1.0-metre shoulders.
Besides, the surfacing will comprise bituminous single sealing with 19 mm aggregate and 10mm Slurry (Cape Seal) over the carriage way and shoulders to an overall width of 8.0 metres.
“Drainage works on the road include construction of reinforced concrete box culverts of various sizes, installation of about 1090m of 900mm and about 436m of 600mm precast concrete pipe culverts.
Ancillary works will include: construction of junctions and accesses; road signs and marking; construction of bus bays; and installation of guard rails, kerbs, and marker posts,” reads part of the description of the road on RA website.