Africa-Press – Malawi. Two tollgates along the M1 Road have generated K8.6 billion since their installation. In October 2021, the country commissioned Chingeni Toll Plaza in Ntcheu District before installing Kalinyeke Tollgate in Dedza District to help in generating funds for maintenance on the tolled road.
Roads Fund Administration (RFA) spokesperson Masauko Mngwaluko, whose firm manages the tollgates, has confirmed the development. “This [K8.6 billion] is the amount that we have raised since we started tolling,” he said. Mngwaluko said the funds would be used for rehabilitating the stretch between Zalewa and Phombeya in Balaka.
“Gate fees are supposed to be used for funding rehabilitation works on the tolled road. So, there is a contractor that was identified to work on the stretch [between Zalewa and Phombeya] but you can talk to the Roads Authority (RA) for details on the scope of work because that is their jurisdiction,” Mngwaluko said.
KAJANGA— This issue is not uniqueHe further said the original contract sum was K6.3 billion, out of which K1.039 billion was, as advance payment, already paid to the contractor.
RA spokesperson Portia Kajanga said tollgates money is being put to good use. She said some of the works that have been done using money realised from tollgates include the rehabilitation and widening of the M1 Road at Ntcheu Boma from Kings Foundation up to a spot near the District Commissioner’s office.
Kajanga also said RA is working on rehabilitation of a section of the M1 Road from Phombeya to Zalewa. “However, works on this contract have stalled due to unresolved issues concerning escalation of prices of construction materials following the recent alignment of the local currency to major foreign currencies,” Kajanga said.
The RA spokesperson added that RA is discussing methods of addressing the problem with relevant government institutions and various stakeholders. “It must be mentioned that this issue is not unique to the contract under discussion but has affected almost all contracts to maintain and rehabilitate roads which the authority has with various contractors in the country,” Kajanga said. RFA previously announced plans to construct four tollgates in the Central Region.
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