Malawi secures $4.8m from European Investment Bank for upgrading airports with electrical systems, runway lights
Government, through the Ministry of Transport, has rolled out a 4.8 million US dollars project aimed at rehabilitating and upgrading high and medium voltage electrical systems, including runway edge lights at the country’s Chileka International Airport and Kamuzu International Airport.
The rehabilitation works, to be carried out by a Chinese company, will be completed in 12 months with electrical engineers and project managers expected to arrive in the country next month [March].
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport, Andrew Mthiko said government secured funds from the European Investment Bank, through the Existential and Aviation Upgrade Programme being implemented in the country.
“You will call that since Chileka Airport was constructed and commissioned in 1950, as government, we have not done much in terms of rehabilitation in the electoral system. The same apply to electoral system at Kamuzu International Airport since its commissioning in 1970s we have not done much of rehabilitation.
“So, we have commenced a project where we would want to design and build and install high and medium voltage electoral system on all our airports,” Mthiko said in an interview monitored by Nyasa Times on taxpayer-funded Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC).
He further said that they will put new transformers and change some of the switch gears, which enables them to add the voltage to the Escom power at the facilities to ensure that pilots are able to spot the airport from a far.
“We will be introducing new transformer substations in these airports. We identified and signed a contract with a Chinese Company and the contract amount is around 4.8 million dollars,” he added.
Mthiko stated that the contractor will design, supply the equipment and rehabilitate the facilities’ electrical system.
“To date, the contractor has managed to manufacture the equipment that we need and we expect the equipment to arrive in the country in April. We are expecting that by the end of this year, we would have made substantial progress,” he asserted.
Chileka in Blantyre is Malawi’s second international airport after Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe, the nation’s capital city.
‘Medium voltage electoral system…’ LOL. Did they say that?
Why are you concentrating development in the South and Central only. Ku mphoto nanga? There are no roads there?
Government needs to be serious, we dont need upgrading of lighting we upgrading of the entire airport. Its a shame that after 57 to years of independence Malawi should have such an outdated design as the main national airport.
tinawaona kale achina chilima ndi chakwera kuti ndi zero pa ten. this is like kupanga plaster nyumba ya njerwa zosaotcha. these structures don’t need renovations. replace them with modern high standards structures.
We also need to upgrade Airport terminals to international standards and do away with what we have now. Airport munthu unzimva kuti uli mu Airport osakhala ngati ma balani a fodya tilinawo panowa.
So no local companies in this venture .What is so special about Chinese companies? Malawi at 55yrs after attaining freedom from akapikoni still backward.The Polytechnic was opened in the sixties and we are yet to produce capable engineers.It is a shame.
Can’t agree more. Another drain on forex. Tiyikwanitsa koma Singapore?
Shame on us(Malawians)
The constructions and upgrading will be sub contracted to the Local companies and the Chinese are bringing the equipments for the project