By Kenneth Jali ,MANA
Transport and Public Works Deputy Minister, Charles Mchacha has expressed worry over flimsy construction progress made so far on the 61.2-kilometer (km) Lirangwe – Chingale – Machinga road whose initial completion date was revised to May 8, 2020.
On Tuesday after touring the project, Mchacha said in an interview he was not happy with the progress made thus far which contractor, Mota Angel, attributed to lengthy compensation issues as well as carriage design adjustments to include a railway overpass at one of the sites.
He observed that the contractor’s decision to removed construction plants from the 20 km stretch currently under construction implies that work on the revised K 8.7 billion road project stalled way back.
“I am not happy and convinced with the work I have seen. The road from Lirangwe turnoff up to here [Chipini] has shown no progress,” said Mchacha calling himself an ardent follower of the project. “I would like to find out from our consultant, engineers and the entire project team why this is the case.”
The project has, according to the Roads Authority (RA), supposed to be competed at least by April 18, 2018.
Mchacha said it was disheartening to note that people whose areas are along the road have been kept waiting for road development.
“Whatever has happened on this project is not convincing. The president [Mutharika] promised the people of this area development. It is however, as if the matter has turned political.
According to RA, the project was initially estimated at K5.3 billion but the figure was revised to K8.7billion.
Asked to comment on the minister’s observation, project manager for Mota Engil, Emmanuel Chimtengo said over seventy percent of the work has been completed.
He attributed the delay to delayed change in the road design to accommodate a railway flyover bridge as well as delays of people compensated to move away from the road’s course.
“We have been facing a number of challenges since the beginning. Compensation challenges in this case. When you drive through this road you will notice that we have skipped some places because there are structures standing in the middle of the road that need to be addressed.
“You may also notice that there is a railway line crossing the road. To accommodate it, we just got instruction to construct a railway overpass,” said Chimtengo.
