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December 16, 2020 Osman Faiti - Nyasa Times 7 Comments
Roads Authority (RA) chief executive officer Engineer Emmanuel Matapa has said as suggested by Vice-President Saulos Chilima, they will engage Plem Construction Limited on the need to improve the Chikwawa-Chapananga-Mwanza Road project.
Chilima tours Shire Valley Transformation Programme 1 in Chikwawa-(c) Abel Ikiloni, Mana
Chilima inspects Chapananga bridge in Chikwawa district-(c) Abel Ikiloni, Mana
Chilima unhappy with the poor work at Chapananga bridge in Chikwawa district-(c) Abel Ikiloni, Mana (4)
Chilima described as substandard works and ordered the redesigning of the first completed 10 kilometres (km) of the 140-km road.
The Vice-President, who is also Minister of Economic Planning and Development; and Public Sector Reforms, expressed the frustration after inspecting the Chikwawa-Chapanga-Mwanza and Nsanje-Marka road projects in Chikwawa and Nsanje.
Chilima made the remarks when he was assessing the progress of the construction work.
According Chilima, the road which has been constructed is substandard.
“I have pressed on the Contractor, Plem Construction, to redesign the first 10 km that they have worked on so far as opposed to proceeding with the current poor design of the road. We would rather pay more and have a durable and quality road than continuing with what I have seen.
“I have shot down the Contractor’s argument that the ‘poor’ design is because the road has less traffic. No. That’s a wrong mindset. It is like planning on the assumption that the people of this country will remain poor forever,” said Chilima
RA claims the bridge is fit - file photo
As the Rehabilitation of Chapananga bridge is in progress, the Roads Authority has insisted that the actual structure of the bridge is fit and sound.
Roads Authority spokesperson Portia Kajanga told Zodiak on Tuesday that what got damaged on the bridge by the Cyclone Idai was the embankment which the same contractor who constructed the Bridge, Plem Construction Limited is currently working on.
Opened mid-May in 2019, the Chapananga bridge was damaged by the cyclone Idai raising questions on whether the contractor did a good work or not.
But Roads Authority is of the view that contractor worked very hard on the project blaming the hostile weather on the current situation of the 8 billion kwacha bridge.