One hundred and twenty-five out of 438 sites under the Malawi Rural Electrification Programme (Marep) phase nine have been switched on, representing 36 percent of completion.
Confirming the development in an interview on Tuesday, Minister of Energy chief of energy offer Austin Theu expressed optimism that all contractors will meet the August deadline.
He said: “We have observed significant progress in all remaining sites with contractors making assurance of prospects of meeting August completion target.”
According to Theu, most of the critical works for the remaining projects have already been done, with 22 additional sites added to the programme, bringing the total site to 460.
The development comes two months after fears that some contractors would miss the August 2024 deadline as some of the delays were beyond their control.
The programme which had been facing delays since 2020 at procurement and contracting stages was initially planned to be completed on 31 March, 2024.
In an earlier interview, Minister of Energy Principal Secretary Alfonso Chikuni said the March 31 deadline was not practical as construction of the power lines started late.
He said work in some sites started in January this year while in other sites it started in February.
Meanwhile Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Climate Change Chairperson Werani Chilenga recently said he is impressed with the progress.
Among others, Marep, which seeks to increase electricity access especially in access, especially in rural areas, is funded through rural electrification levy in the petroleum pump price build up.
Initially, Marep 9 was estimated to cost K40 billion in 2022, but due to devaluation of the kwacha and other factors it was revised upwards to K70 billion.
The Marep 9 started in 2019 but four years down the line, the programme has not been completed due to a number of challenges.
SOURCE: THE NATION-GEORGE LUMWIRA-STAFF REPORTER-8 AUGUST 2024.