|
|
|
|
| Features |
| Karonga—Chiweta Road, a new wonder |
|
by
Francis Tayanjah-Phiri, 16 October 2003
-
09:41:23
|
The blue waters of Lake Malawi can mostly be appreciated when you are passing by to or from Karonga. But, a new feature — a brand new road that skirts through the sandy beaches of Chitimba, as you descend from the hills of northeast Rumphi on the west banks of the lake, has further added beauty to the lake’s surrounding.
And, it may even be these hills and beaches, garnished with the fresh but warm breeze from the Lake that enticed the contractors, Murray & Roberts to put much into the finishing touches of the road.
No wonder, even local residents along this 104-kilometre road, would visibly be seen on several times of the day, standing hands akimbo, wondering how a scenery could be transformed in a matter of months.
“This road has not only beautified these trading centres along it, but we have also seen an increase in local business ventures. This is because people can now easily travel to and from Tanzania. Here at Chiweta, the travelling public is giving us more business than before the road was completed,” says Agnes Chisi, who sells soft drinks at Chiweta.
Before the new road, which President Bakili Muluzi officially opened on October 16, it used to take motorists about six and a half hours to travel between Mzuzu and Karonga. Travelling time has now been reduced to a mere two and a half hours.
Officially baptised as the Karonga-Chilumba-Chiweta Road, the road was reconstructed after the original one was damaged beyond repair by flooding waters over the years.
Now complete, the reconstructed M1 road becomes the country’s biggest single donor-funded road after the European Development Fund through the European Union pumped close to K2 billion for its construction.
Apart from the 104-km road, the contract also provided an extra 5.4 km length of spur road linking the M1 spur road with the peninsula village of Chilumba and its jetty at the lake.
“Construction of the road was originally intended to be completed in two and a half years. However it was extended by a year to allow for an increase in earthwork quantities and flood protection measures,” says Johann van Der Merwe, sub agent for Murray & Roberts Limited of South Africa, the contractors.
Work commenced on February 28, 2000, at a tender sum of MK1.2 billion However, the figure was reviewed due to unforeseen circumstances to the said completion sum of K2 billion.
Van Der Merwe recalled in an interview a couple of months ago that the major challenge on the road was a large amount of embankment quantities which had to be placed through the rainy season.
He also cited the unstable ground materials around Wovwe that caused problems of cracks as another challenge.
Project details sourced from the contractors and supervisors’ representatives, Parkman Limited of the United Kingdom indicate that actual works included rehabilitation of the original road by widening and upgrading it.
Looking at the bridges, one obviously notes the effort and engineering determination that went with them. Even lay people are optimistic that the new road will withstand the usual flooding of Karonga.
No wonder, the donors’ representative, the EU head of delegation to Malawi, Wiepke van der Goot is excited that the union funds did not go down the drain. As EU’s development partner, he says, Malawi stands to economically benefit from the road.
Says van der Goot: “To me the opening of this road is one of the most exciting events of my stay here. The completion of this road means that Malawi has been connected to a greater part of Africa, since this links the country to other major roads up to Cairo.”
He says in getting connected Malawi would easily develop through trade since it would now be easier to get goods to and from many destinations linked up with the new road.
“Malawi, just as any other country, can only develop itself through trade links with other countries, and roads are extremely important in the success of economy and trade,” he says.
Van der Goot says the EU would continue to help Malawi to have a good functioning road network, which is maintained and sustained.
Earlier this year, Malawi also benefited from the EU’s friendly gesture through the opening of the new Dwambazi Bridge, which replaced an old one which was washed away by floods in 2000.
The washing away of the bridge led to great loss of business and trade for the country since the bridge was the main link Central and Northern Regions, enroute to Tanzania.
The EU, according to van der Goot, has poured in over 100 million Euros into the improvement of the road network in Malawi.
Supervisors for the new road, the Malawi National Road Authority (NRA) feel the impact of the road would also rejuvenate the glory of the northern corridor.
“For Malawi, being a land locked country, this road has great impact on our economy. The bulk of fuel imported into the country passes through it, and before the new road, it was hectic for vehicles to travel to Malawi and Tanzania,” says NRA’s Public Relations Officer Rosemary Ligomeka.
Ligomeka says NRA is excited to acquire for government this state-of-art road and stresses that everything would be put in place to maintain its standard.
And, as the standard is maintained, tourists would continue enjoying the scenery of the road, coupled with the blue waters of Lake Malawi as they descend the hills of eastern Rumphi, on the western edge of the lake. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
