Minister of Water and Sanitation Abida Sidik Mia says funds have been mobilised for the Salima-Lilongwe water project which will start next month on 1 March, 2024.
The Minister disclosed this in Parliament when she was responding to Member of the Parliament for Lilongwe City Centre Alfred Jiya who asked the Minister on the actual date when the project is expected to commence.
Speaking to Malawi24, Mia said funds have been mobilised for the commencement of the project and as a Ministry they have confirmed their preparedness to start the project.
“At the moment, the Salima Water project is going to kick on the 1st March 2024. This is a project that His Excellency would like to see starting immediately because there are a lot of people that need water from Salima and they will be diverting it and using some of the water for irrigation. So, this is a project that is needed immediately and I can confirm to you that everything is done and next month the project will start,” said Mia.
According to Mia, Government has secured 30 percent of the entire project estimated cost and remaining 70 percent will be secured from investors.
“We have so far sourced the funds from the local banks to kick off the project but as we go a long we will be getting a lot of interest in the project once we start and we have people that have already come forward with interest for the project,” said Mia.
In his remarks, Member of Parliament for Lilongwe city centre Alfred Jiya expressed excitement with the response from the Minister.
According to Jiya, they have been asking for sustainable water supply within Lilongwe urban and even along the peri urban areas as the water problems is quite huge in Lilongwe.
He added that the project is going to benefit a lot of people in Lilongwe and also a lot of young people will be employed to work on the project.
“I am satisfied with the response of the Minister because she has assured me that this project come rain or sunshine is starting and she has indicated that the project will start on 1 March and this is good news. As a member of parliament for Lilongwe city centre, I am very impressed,” said Jiya.
The government of Malawi has selected the Lake Malawi Water Supply Project as a flagship project for implementation to cover the water supply gap in the city of Lilongwe and the surrounding areas.
The 500 Billion kwacha Project has been designed to meet the water supply requirements for Lilongwe City, surrounding areas and town centres along the M14 Lilongwe – Salima Road (Salima Town, Mvera, Dowa Turn Off and Chezi).
