Malawi hopes to start work on three Chinese-backed projects next year

The government of Malawi has said that preparatory work for three
projects to be financed by the People's Republic of China – a five-star
hotel, an international conference centre and a national football
stadium in the capital, Lilongwe – will be completed this year so that
construction may start early in the new year.

A director at the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, Hastings Chiudzu,
reports that Chinese firm Shanghai Construction has already completed
the designs for the conference centre and the hotel projects, which are
expected to cost several millions of dollars.

Chiudzu adds that
the Malawi government, for its part, has completed surveying the land
earmarked for the two projects, and has also approved the architectural
designs produced by the Chinese firm.

"I can assure you that
preparations for the two projects are at an advanced stage. At the
moment, the project reports have already been done and sent to the
Ministry of Finance."

The conference centre will include Presidential chalets that will be used during international conferences.

Chiudzu confirms that Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika has approved the concept design for the stadium project that the Chinese have produced.

"All
the paperwork for the architectural component has been completed. What
is remaining is to finalise the financial arrangements so that
construction can commence next year," says Chiudzu.

Chiudzu says the stadium will have seating capacity of 40 000.

"We are negotiating with the Chinese government so that we can extend it to 65 000 seats," says Chiudzu.

The
Chinese government pledged to assist Malawi in many projects in
December last year, when the Southern African country announced its
decision to end 42 years of diplomatic ties with Taiwan and establish
relations with the mainland, Taiwan's political rival.

China has
also taken over the financing of projects which were abandoned by the
Taiwanese when they pulled out of Malawi. These include the $70-million
Karonga-Chitipa road project in the northern region, and a
multimillion-dollar Parliamentary complex in Lilongwe.

China Road
& Bridge Corporation (CRBC) has been awarded the contract to
undertake the construction of the Karonga-Chitipa road.

"The
contractor from the People's Republic of China is reliable, having done
high-quality work not only in China, but also across Africa. The
Chinese government identified the contractor following a request from
the Malawi government," says Malawi's Minister of Transport, Public
Works and Housing, Henry Chimunthu Banda.

Malawi
and China are also in the process of engaging new contractors
Parliamentary complex, which was abandoned when the Taiwanese pulled
out.

China has also pledged to finance components of the proposed
$6-billion Shire–Zambezi waterway project, which is designed to link
landlocked Malawi to the Indian Ocean by dredging a canal through the
Shire and Zambezi rivers.