Newly upgraded regional road network to reopen in Malawi

LILONGWE, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The newly upgraded Karonga-Songwe Road, one of Malawi's priority routes for regional trade, will reopen on Thursday, according to a statement by the Malawi government.

Malawi's President Peter Mutharika will attend the launch ceremony in Karonga District, a northern region district which lies about 533 kilometers north of the country's capital Lilongwe, the Office of the President and Cabinet said in a statement.

Funded by the World Bank under the Southern Africa Trade and Transport Facilitation Project to the tune of 24 million U.S. dollars, the 46-kilometer Road has been under renovation since December 2017 by a Chinese company named Zhejiang Communications Construction Group Co., Ltd.

The Road will further open areas along the way to more business especially the rice trade, Malawi Paramount Chief Kyungu of Karonga and Chitipa said.

"The impact will be greater and the lives of people surely will change for the better," Kyungu said.

The government-sponsored Greenbelt Authority "are starting a rice irrigation project here (in Karonga) which will boost rice production adding to the already flourishing rice output. With the Road, farmers will be able to export to neighboring Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique," Kyungu said.

The Road is part of the North-South Corridor that connects Malawi to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

"Karonga, particularly the northern part, is key to the country's rice production and the Road will ease mobility from farmers to various markets," said District Commissioner for Karonga Richard Hara.

"This means the district will now be making more revenue from such trade. The beauty of the district will also be enhanced," Hara said.