A significant investment in state-of-the-art plant machinery is set to revolutionize the construction industry in Malawi, addressing a long-standing shortage of heavy equipment.
Immas Building Contractors (IBC) Limited General Manager Immanuel Ndilowe revealed that the company has invested K1.5 billion in new plant and earth movement machinery.
“We have acquired brand new machinery like Abnormal load trailers, back-hoe loaders with jack hammers, tippers, crane trucks, bulldozers, mobile lifts, concrete finishing equipment and many others because we saw that most local building contractors were having problems in accessing this equipment,” Ndilowe explained.
Ndilowe emphasized that the decision to acquire brand new machinery from China was driven by the need to improve delivery and efficiency at a cost-effective price.
“Our trucks can also get load across the borders with no waiting times so that we improve on the efficiency. We did not want to get second-hand machinery because of the experience that other people face, including us, when they try to hire heavy equipment,” he added.
Ndilowe noted that delays in project completion are a common challenge faced by contractors due to the long waiting list for machinery hire. “But we are a local company with expertise and capacity, that is why we decided to go into this venture,” he said.
The investment has been hailed by contractors, including Madalitso Makwecha of New Vision Construction Limited. “We have been having challenges when it comes to hiring heavy equipment as it is scarce because just a few companies have these, and with the coming in of this equipment, it will help us improve on efficiency and quality of our work,” Makwecha said.
