Parliament has approved Bill No. 24 of 2025, authorising the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development to secure a €38 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the Malawi M1 Road Rehabilitation II C Project.
The bill, presented on Wednesday by Minister of Finance Joseph Mwanamvekha, seeks to support the rehabilitation of approximately 347 kilometres of the single-carriage M1 Road without altering its current alignment.
Mwanamvekha said the M1 forms a critical part of the North-South Corridor, which connects the port cities of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania and Durban in South Africa. He noted that about 1,145 kilometres of the corridor passes through Malawi via the M1 Road.
Member of Parliament for Lilongwe-Phiri la Njuzi Constituency, Peter Dimba, welcomed the passing of the bill, saying negotiations for the loan began earlier this year and that progress on the M1 Road is already visible.
“We support the bill wholeheartedly. This project started some three or four years ago, and so far we have seen tremendous progress on the M1 Road. In fact, some of the sections are now passable, and we are impressed with the quality of the work being done,” he said.
Dimba added that the continuity of infrastructure development is encouraging.
“We are happy because government is a going concern, a continuing entity. We are happy that the DPP government is continuing from where the Malawi Congress Party government left. During the past five years under the leadership of former president Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, Malawi was turned into a construction site,” he said.
Member of Parliament for Mwanza Central Constituency, Felix Njawala, also expressed appreciation for the approval of the bill, saying borrowing for development remains essential.
“We are investing in a road project. This project has a significant impact on several issues in our country,” he said.