The head of Lilongwe City Council says the capital’s roads and public facilities fall short of what is expected of a capital city, and that a new partnership with a military engineering firm must reach well beyond a single road.
“Lilongwe is the capital of Malawi, but the situation which we are having does not befit the capital status,” chief executive Clement Stambuli said at the groundbreaking of a new link road between Areas 47 and 49.
He said he hopes the partnership with the Malawi Defence Force Engineering Company Limited (MDF-ECCL) will go on to cover road repairs, including pothole maintenance, and other infrastructure.
Mr Stambuli pledged that the money would be managed responsibly and transparently.
He urged the contractor to stick to agreed costs, technical specifications and deadlines, and said the project must offer value for money and meet safety and environmental standards.
The 12-month project covers a Bailey bridge across the Lingadzi River and 800 metres of bitumen road linking it to Presidential Way, near Bingu National Stadium.
It is expected to ease congestion, shorten journeys to the city centre and cut the economic losses caused by traffic delays.
It is part of a K15 billion package of three projects being delivered through the council. The others are improvements to Presidential Way towards the city centre by MDF-ECCL, and upgrading a separate 1.5-kilometre road from Area 47 to Chibuku Products to bitumen standard.
Local Government and Rural Development Minister Ben Malunga Phiri, who led the ceremony, said congestion is undermining economic activity in the capital.
He said many people now live in Areas 25 and 49 and have long struggled to get to town.
The new link, he said, will give an alternative route towards Crossroads and the city centre, so people will not have to go “all the way to the Saulos Chilima Highway”.
Residents, including learners from Areas 47, 49 and 25, now rely on a makeshift footbridge about 50 metres long to cross the river.
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