STORY: Malawian gov't impressed with Chinese contractor in road construction
DATELINE: June 28, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:24
LOCATION: Lilongwe
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the construction site
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): PORTIA KAJANGA, Malawi Roads Authority's senior public relations officer
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): PORTIA KAJANGA, Malawi Roads Authority's senior public relations officer
4. various of workers
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): HE LIREN, Chinese representative of the project

STORYLINE:

Authorities in Malawi have said they are impressed with the progress that Chinese contractor, Shandong Luqiao Group Company Limited, is making in the upgrading of the 9.5-km section of the country's backbone road, M1, that passes through the capital city of Lilongwe.

Portia Kajanga, Malawi Roads Authority's senior public relations officer, told Xinhua in a recent interview that when completed, the stretch, which is being upgraded from 2-lane to 4-lane, will be one of the best roads in the country.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): PORTIA KAJANGA, Malawi Roads Authority's senior public relations officer
"Working in an urban setup is quite different from working in rural areas. In an urban setup you need to consider that people want to continue doing about what they do every day. They want to take their children to school, go to work and come back, go home for lunch and go back to work. All that must be accommodated and showing progress of the work that you are doing. It is quite challenging, but this contractor has been able to manage all that."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): PORTIA KAJANGA, Malawi Roads Authority's senior public relations officer
"We really wish we had a much longer section where the contractor will be working on. This road is going to be good. You have seen the weight and the thickness of the beams that they are using to place on the bridges, to make the deck of the bridges where later on after surfacing the vehicles will be passing. The bridges are going to be strong. They have been raised very high so that it would really take huge volumes of water to be able to overtop these bridges."

The project, which officially commenced in December 2021, is funded by a China Aid grant, and it is expected to be fully completed by December 2024.
   
The contractor has employed over 200 locals who are also benefiting through knowledge and skills transferring.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): HE LIREN, Chinese representative of the project
"First, residents and factory workers along the road can travel more conveniently. Second, the road is an important north-south artery that facilitates logistics transportation from the capital of Malawi to other regions. And, it also makes travel easier to the airport and fro."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Lilongwe.
(XHTV)