Malawi is expected to benefit from a US$2.3 billion contract with funding from the Chinese government has signed with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation for the construction of of a rail link between central Zambia and the Malawian border.

A contract to construct a rail link between central Zambia and the Malawian border was signed in the Zambian capital Lusaka on November 2

The 388-kilometer railway, to run from the eastern town of Chipata to the central town of Serenje via another eastern town of Petauke, where it will meet the existing line to Lilongwe in Malawi and the port of Nacala in Mozambique, will be constructed by China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), at a cost of $2.3 billion within a four-year period.

Zambia’s Minister of Transport and Communication Brian Mushimba said during the signing on ceremony in Lusaka this week that the railway line will promote local and international trade once completed.

It is expected to be completed in four years to come.

“This project is meant to enhance regional and international trade through the Nacala Development Corridor with a direct economic stimulus in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique,” he said

Mushimba said the railway line will link Zambia main railway with the Malawian line through Chipata Mchinji Railway.

A contract to construct a rail link between central Zambia and the Malawian border was signed in the Zambian capital Lusaka on November 2 by minister of Transport and Communications Mushimba and representatives of China Railway Construction Corporation.

The 389km line will run east from a junction with the 1067mm-gauge Lusaka – Mpika – Nakonde line at Serenje to Petauke and Chipata, where it will meet the existing line to Lilongwe in Malawi and the port of Nacala in Mozambique.

Source: Nyasa Times