* However, the cyclones came before the contractor had gone far with the project
* A lot of streams were developed by the cyclones and rivers changed directions
* Which has forced us to raise the railway design and also to construct additional bridges that were not on the first design
By Robert Nayeja
Government has justified the delays over the construction of Bangula-Marka railway line, saying the back-to-back cyclones — Ana in 2022 and Freddy in 2023 — forced Bangula-Marka railway project engineers to redesign it for climate change resilience.
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This was said by Minister of Transport & Public Works, Jacob Hara after he inspected construction works of the railway line that connects Malawi with Mozambique’s port of Beira, which is one of the landing sites of goods into Malawi as well as exports.
Hara said the redesigning was necessitated by the two cyclones, while giving the confidence that the cyclones came before the contractor had gone far with the project.
“A lot of streams were developed [by the cyclones] and rivers changed directions, which has forced us to raise the railway design and also to construct additional bridges that were not on the first design,” he said.
The Minister said the redesigning and the devaluation of the kwacha has forced the project cost to be revised but he assured people in the Lower Shire that government will provide all necessary support to the contractor in order for the project to move faster so that people in the country should start enjoying the benefit of railway transport.
“The price of commodities will go down as the cost of transporting goods on railway is cheaper than road transport,” he assured. “As government we will provide all necessary support so that the project should be completed.”
Hara assured people that by the end of this year, a locomotive from Beira will be able to reach Nsanje Boma.
Project manager at China Railway 20 (CR20), Zhinan Gua said once all resources are in place, the first part of Marka-Nsanje will be completed by September this year.
Senior Chief Chimombo appealed to government to make sure that there is speed in the construction works of the project, saying the railway line will unlock economic opportunities of people in Nsanje and the whole nation.
“There will be cargo from Mozambican port of Beira coming here to Malawi and some people will find job, others will be doing business and it will lift the face of Nsanje as it will invite investors in various fields,” he said.
He appealed for good working relationship between government and the contractor to speed up the construction works.
Meanwhile, when the mega farm concept of the Shire Valley Transformation Programme (STVP) is completed, it is expected that the railway shall play a huge role in transportation of the agricultural produce from the Lower Shire for value addition as cost cutting measures.
The mega canal being constructed
This was said by SVTP Project Coordinator Dr. Stanley Khaila mid this month when he was appraising the Parliamentary Committee on Budget & Finance on the progress of the mega irrigation canal.
He told the Committee — led by its chairperson, MP for Nsanje Lalanje, Gladys Ganda — that SVTP was engaging management of rail transport to expedite with construction of the rail from Nsanje to Limbe that as by September this year, Chikwawa District farmers — that are closer to the SVTP intake are set to be provided with water for irrigation.
The Members of Parliament were first taken on a tour of the site at Kapichira Dam where construction a redesigned water intake will take place, whose initial investment all got washed away due to flooding of the Shire River from the effects of Cyclone Ana in 2022.
Thus it was redesigned to be resilient to climate change and other forces as was the case two years ago and at the site, Khaila appraised the Parliamentary Committee that Phase 1 is at 63% complete and sets a deadline of May 2025.
But before that, the beneficiary communities that are close to the canal’s first phase from the intake will have water flowing into their fields once the secondary pipelines are completed while contractor, Synohydro continues with its 52km stretch of canal construction.
There are two contractors on site, Condril for the construction of the intake and 6km stretch of the canal passing through Majete Game Reserve and Synohydro for the 50km distance to Lengwe National Park.
The mega canal, touted as the biggest irrigation project in sub-Saharan Africa, is 118km long up to Bangula in Nsanje District and once completed, it will provide water for irrigation to over 22,280 hectares.
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Khaila, alongside contractor Condril, assured the Budget & Finance Committee that the first part of the intake and 6km is at 95% complete with the full focus on the intake, whose designs are being concluded in consultation with stakeholder, Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO), whom the STVP share the Kapichira Dam.
Khaila thus assured the Committee, which scrutinizes project budgets for approval in the august House, that 13 pieces of land (1,500 hectares) closer to the Phase 1 have already been surveyed and adjudicated and that all agricultural cooperatives have been registered as commercial entities.
The farmers were trained in formulating business plans while the programme itself is identifying investor off-takers for produce processing as value addition.
Thus Khaila’s emphasis on the Programe’s engagement with management of rail transport from Nsanje to Limbe to transport agricultural produce from the Lower Shire for value addition as cost cutting measures.—Additional reporting by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
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