The Government has pushed to November as the commencement date for the construction of the Chiweta-Karonga section of the damaged M1 road.
Initially the government said that construction of the said section will commence in September following an uproar from civil society organisation as well as Paramount Chief Kyungu of Karonga district on the state of the road.
However, speaking when he met CSOs in Karonga on Saturday, minister of transport and public works Jappie Mhango said the construction commencement date has been pushed forward due to some other factors.
He said the September date was made in a haste leaving out some other important issues that were only discovered when a team from the ministry visited the damaged road.
“When we floated out the bidding process, some details were left out and when they were discovered and added to the requirements of the project those interested requested for more time to factor in the same” Mhango said.
Mhango said this led to pushing further the closing date of the bidding process a development he said has also affected other processes in selecting companies to work on the road which has been divided into two lots.
He however said the assessment process of selecting companies with capacity and expertise to work on the road is in progress saying once the construction works begin,there shall be no further delays as funds are already available for the project.
Meanwhile, Engineer Joel Longwe Chief Executive Officer of the Roads Authority has assured the citizenry of a high standard work saying the road will be constructed using modern and climate resilient technologies.
He said this road will be second in the country to have modern and climate resilient technologies the first being the 6 lane Dr Saulos Chilima road in Lilongwe, a thing he said will ensure the road stands against climate shocks.
However,Obert Mkandawire, desk officer for the Catholic Commission of Justice and Peace in the Karonga Diocese has said they will only believe whatever authorities have said when the actual construction works commence.
The Karonga-Chiweta section of the M18 road has been a subject of discussion due to its bad shape with some stakeholders accusing the government of neglecting the road which links Malawi and Tanzania.
