The World Bank has approved a $69-million loan to Malawi for the rehabilitation of stretches of the country’s major road, the M1, and the upgrading and modernisation of four one-stop border posts on the frontiers with Mozambique and Tanzania.
World Bank country manager for Malawi Richard Record says the institution provided the financing as part of the second phase of the Southern Africa Trade and Transport Facilitation Programme, which aims to ease the movement of goods and people along the 3 900 km North–South Corridor, which stretches from Tanzania’s port city of Dar es Salaam to Durban, in South Africa.
“Malawi, being a landlocked country, needs to be well connected to ports and other key cities through good-quality roads to help reduce transport costs, which are one of the major obstacles to increasing trade and economic growth,” says Record.
The M1 road runs from Malawi’s northern border with Tanzania to the southern border with Mozambique. The stretches to be rehabilitated and improved under the project include Karonga–Songwe (46 km), Kacheche–Chiweta (70 km) and Mzimba–Mzuzu–Kacheche (147 km).
“All these priority routes are in agriculturally productive areas; thus, the project will [enable] local communities to transport their produce,” says Record.
The upgrading and modernisation of border post facilities at Songwe, on the border with Tanzania, and at Dedza, Mwanza and Muloza, on the border with Mozambique, will improve trade facilitation between Malawi and these two countries.The project, to be implemented by Malawi’s Roads Authority, will run for six years.
Record says the World Bank decided to finance road construction projects in the North–South Corridor because the railway services along the corridor are unreliable, resulting in 80% of all freight in the corridor being moved by road.
The Roads Authority has started prequalifying contractors for aspects of the project.