Contractors have been requested to submit bids by 14 March for the upgrade of Malawi's 67.9km Euthini-Chikwawa Corridor road in the north.

The call for proposals for the US$44 million contract was published on 10 January by Millennium Challenge Account-Malawi II (MCA-Malawi II) and the contract duration is about 30 months.  

The roadworks are part of the US$245 million Accelerated Growth Corridors (AGC) scheme funded by the US government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). MCA-Malawi II is the accountable entity for implementing the scheme and the employer for the roadworks contracts on behalf of the government of Malawi.

The AGC project aims to improve an estimated 300km of main, primary and secondary roads along four corridors, reducing transport barriers between farms and markets and lowering the cost of road freight transportation in Malawi.

The work involves upgrading existing roads to paved standard with bridges and drainage structures, while also addressing the backlog in periodic maintenance for these and associated unpaved community access roads. In total, the AGC project will carry out periodic maintenance on selected main roads and improve approximately 376km of link roads and feeder roads associated with the selected corridor roads. This includes periodic maintenance of the 35km Golomoti-Monkey Bay (M10) road from Golomoti in the central region to Chantulo in the south.

The Euthini-Chikwawa deal includes the reconstruction of three bridges as well as work on primary sealed link roads in the corridor, namely a 12.6km route linking to the Malidade trading centre and a 1.2km road leading to the Mpherembe trading centre.

The four corridor roads are being tendered in separate lots.

Lot 1 covers 83km of road on the Mkanda-Linga Corridor, which stretches between the districts of Mchinji and Kasungu in Malawi’s central region.

Lot 2 comprises the 67km Euthini-Chikwawa Corridor section, while Lot 3 involves 53km of road on the Chileka-Likuni Corridor, located within the capital city Lilongwe in the central region.

Lot 4 targets 77km of road on the Chantulo-Mkutumula Corridor, which runs from Mangochi district in the south to Ntcheu district in the central region.

The tender for the Euthini-Chikwawa works can be viewed here.

On 18 September 2024, bids were invited for the Chileka-Likuni and Chantulo-Mkutumula works, with a deadline of 20 November 2024. The Chileka-Likuni deal is valued at US$32 million and has an estimated duration of 30 months, while the Chantulo-Mkutumula contract is worth US$48 million with a duration of about 32 months.

Work on the Mkanda-Linga Corridor has yet to be tendered.

Eligible companies can bid for one or more lots, alone or in consortia. But no contractor will be awarded more than two lots. For these large works packages, the tender will use quality and price-based selection.

MCA-Malawi II expects road works to commence in the CL and CM corridors in May 2025, with construction on the ML and CE corridors likely to begin several months thereafter.

In June 2023, LEA Associates South Asia was selected to carry out the detailed design and supervision of work on the Euthini-Chikwawa and Mkanda-Linga corridors over 45 months. A team of Sheladia Associates and MPAMOT Africa was chosen to execute the detailed design and supervision of work on the Chileka-Likuni and Chantulo-Mkutumula roads over 48.5 months.

The AGC project will also carry out periodic maintenance on selected main roads and improve approximately 376km of link roads and feeder roads associated with the selected corridor roads. This includes periodic maintenance of the 35km Golomoti-Monkey Bay (M10) road from Golomoti in the central region to Chantulo in the south.

The AGC project is a key part of the US$350 million Malawi Transport and Land Compact signed in September 2022 by the MCC and the government of Malawi. The compact has a strict five-year implementation timeline and is expected to be concluded by May 2029. The programme aims to lower transport costs for smallholder farmers, modernise urban land systems and benefit over 5 million people across the country.

Top photo: Malawi road (Source: MCA-Malawi II)