Feature: Malawians benefit from Chinese-funded road project

LILONGWE, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Although construction work on Malawi's backbone road M1 is yet to be completed, the project is already benefiting hundreds of Malawian families.

The project, which Chinese contractor Shandong Luqiao Group Company Limited is currently undertaking, includes the reconstruction and extension of a 9.5 km stretch of the M1 Road in the capital, Lilongwe. The stretch of road is being upgraded from two lanes to four lanes, with independent bicycle lanes and sidewalks on both sides.

The project, which is funded by a China Aid grant, commenced on Dec. 28, 2021, and it has created employment for over 200 Malawians who are now able to look after their families.

"The coming of the Chinese, especially on this project, has benefited us a lot," one of the employees, Peter Ndamvakale, told Xinhua in an interview. "I started working with the company in 2021 and I have managed to procure land, and I have built a modern house for my family."

According to the construction company's Project Manager, Peng Shiwan, when completed, the long-term benefits of the road will be the easy movement of people and goods in the city, which will boost business in the city, thereby contributing to the development and the economy of the country.

"We will make reasonable arrangements to ensure that the project is completed on schedule. There are two bridges in this section and when completed, traffic will flow freely unlike before when traffic used to jam due to the narrowness of the bridges," explained Peng.

On the quality of the construction works, the manager gave an assurance that the road is constructed "in accordance with China's first-class highway standards" and that they couldn't compromise on that.

The Malawian government is impressed with the progress of the construction work. Malawian Minister of Transport and Public Works, Jacob Hara, said in an interview that although there were some delays in the commencement of the project, the works are now shaping up well.

"The contractor is taking advantage of the rainy season as a curing season for the works on the bridges and I believe that once the rains are over, they will go ahead and finish work on the pavements," he said.

Other Chinese companies that are carrying out construction works in Malawi include China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Railway 20th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. (CR20). CCECC is upgrading a 3.9 km stretch of road in the capital from 2 lanes to 6 lanes to help decongest the city, while CR20 is constructing the 72 km Bangula-Nsanje-Marka railway line, according to the Ministry of Transport and Public Works records.