Malawi is again to benefit from bilateral relation with Government of Peoples Republic of China following seven Investment projects to be carried out soon and number of grants worth of Millions.
President
Professor Peter Mutharika disclosed during the news conference on Wednesday at
Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe that China is bringing investment to Malawi following
his recent meeting with the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China,
His Excellency Mr. Li Keqian, on 10thSeptember this year, on the
sidelines of the World Economic Forum that was held in the beautiful city of
Dalian.
In his announcement, however, President Mutharika
indicated that the Chinese Government approved for immediate implementation three
projects while four projects will be subjected to further review and that a team
of experts will be visiting Malawi before the end of December this year to
discuss the technical aspects with their counterparts.
The Malawi leader disclosed that China
has approved implementation of The 300 Megawatt Kam’mwamba Coal Fired Power
Plant which he said will take three years to complete.
“This project is aimed at increasing the
power generating capacity of Malawi to meet the ever increasing demand. The
project cost is estimated at US$667 million.” He said adding “After completion
we will say goodbye to power outages that we are experiencing!”
He then announced another US$50 million project
called The E-Government (National Identity) Project. The Fibre Back-bone
component of the project which will lay the fibre optic cables to increase
internet connectivity, the second component of the National Identification
Project, however, will be subjected to further discussions.
The third project he said is the Chileka
International Airport “Before implementation commences, the Malawi Government
will redesign the project, conduct feasibility study and an Environmental
Impact Assessment. The total cost of the project is estimated at US$285 million”
said Mutharika
The projects that are four projects subjected
to further review are: the 140 Km Tsangano – Neno – Mwanza Road which is
estimated to cost US$169.4 million; the 129.5 Km Mangochi – Makanjira Road
expected to cost US$151.7 million; the Upgrading of the Phombeya – Makanjira–
Nkhotakota – Chatoloma 220 KV Power Line valued cost at US$189; and The
Lilongwe Dual Carriage Way from Kanengo – Mchinji Roundabout on the M1 Road to
cost US$45 million.
President Mutharika has promised the
nation that in all these projects a lot of Malawians will not only benefit by
having the projects in their areas, but also will get jobs.
He then announced that the Chinese
Government provided and signed with Malawi in January this year US$25 million grant
whose Financing Agreement was signed in January 2015; and US$8 million grant interest-free
loan.
He also mentioned that China has provided
US$25 million whose Financing Agreement is being prepared for signing.
He then also disclosed that the Chinese
Government agreed to disburse the two grants. He said the first grant is for
the Construction of the Blantyre District Hospital and Cancer Centre in
Blantyre at Kameza costing US$23; and Procurement of police vehicles for the
Malawi Police Service costing US$2 million.
The second grant is a total sum of US$23
million for six projects which includes; Construction of a Technical Teacher
Training College, Promotion of value addition activities for the Ministry of Industry
and Trade and Support for technical services for the Bingu National Stadium
constructed with the support of the Chinese Government.
“We thank the Chinese government for the
support it is rendering to Malawi. This only signifies the strength of the
bilateral relationship that exists between the two Governments.” Said Mutharika
who mentioned more than once in his statement that his government will continue
to impalement projects that are to support the Malawi economy.
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