* The bridge connects the people of Mwanza and Neno Districts to Blantyre via Chileka and was swept away in 2019 by Cyclone Idai
* The Chileka–Mpatamanga Road serves as the primary access route to the site of the 300 megawatt Mpatamanga hydropower project
By Duncan Mlanjira
The Malawi Defence Force (MDF) Engineers Battalion reports that it has been tasked by the Roads Authority to reinstall Mpatamanga bailey bridge over the Shire River that connects the people of Mwanza and Neno Districts to Blantyre via Chileka.
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The bridge was swept away in 2019 by Cyclone Idai and its destruction led to limited access to essential social services for local communities and the reinstallation aims to enhance mobility between three districts.
On its official Facebook account, the MDF quotes the Roads Authority’s public relations officer, Alice Alinane Chinthochi, as saying the Chileka–Mpatamanga Road serves as the primary access route to the site of the Mpatamanga hydropower project, a nationally significant 350 megawatt (MW) development planned on the Shire River.
She further pointed out that restoring the crossing is considered vital both for local communities and for ensuring the timely commencement and smooth execution of this critical energy infrastructure project.
The project involves grading a 70km road from Energy Generation Company (EGENCO’s) Tedzani Power Station to Mpatamanga to transport bridge structures from Tedzani to the construction site, and assembling a 70m bridge, which is scheduled to be completed in three months.
The reconstruction of the bailey bridge was delayed due to financial constraints and when presenting the 2026/2027 National Budget in Parliament last week, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning & Development, Joseph Mwanamvekha, announced that negotiations for financing the Mpatamanga hydropower project are at an advanced stage as government seeks to increase power generation capacity.
With resources now secured, construction is progressing and is expected to be completed by the end of May this year. Spearheading the project, the Engineers Battalion Second-in-Command, Major Chimwemwe Makocha, highlighted the team’s readiness to deliver quality work, noting that bailey bridge construction falls within their expertise.
The dam for Mpatamanga hydropower project will be built on the Shire River which is downstream of two EGENCO hydro power stations Nkula A & Nkula B (100MW), Tedzani (110.7MW) and upstream Kapichira (128MW).
EGENCO is also considering taking part of the water from the reservoir to boost the capacity of the Kapichira hydro power plant.
The site of the project along the Shire River
Meanwhile, as part of environmental mitigation, the Mpatamanga project includes construction of a 15km solar powered electric fence around Neno Wildlife Ranch to support biodiversity conservation as well as strengthening community involvement and local capacity.
As part of the continuation of feasibility studies towards the construction of Mpatamanga project, the Malawi Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) conducted a series-of-public-hearings-on-environmental-and-social-impact-assessment (ESIA) following a report submitted by Mpatamanga Hydropower Limited.
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