The Government of Malawi has signed a $20 million memorandum of understanding with the Chinese company Hongtai Investment Group to develop transport on Lake Malawi. The project includes the construction of two vessels and the modernization of the Monkey Bay shipyard.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed at Lilongwe on 7 September provides for the supply of a freight vessel and a passenger vessel. Hongtai Investment Group is also required to upgrade the Monkey Bay shipyard, which provides naval construction and repair on Lake Malawi. The project must be carried out over a period of approximately 18 months.

The agreement also includes work on port infrastructure and equipment. The Chinese company plans to upgrade the loading and unloading equipment, warehouses and logistics systems of the Port of Chipoka in the Salima district, as well as other ports on the shores of the lake.

The programme also provides for the transfer of skills and technologies to Malawian actors in the sector.

The Chief Secretary of the Department of Transport and Public Works, Bright Kumwembe, indicated that the government wanted to develop competition in lake transportation to improve services.

New vessels must increase cargo and passenger capacity on Lake Malawi. According to the authorities, the development of this mode of transport must also facilitate links between lake and road networks.

The project is taking place in a context of ship ageing and constraints on lake transport infrastructure in Malawi.

Some communities, especially those on the islands of Likoma and Chizumulu, are heavily dependent on water transport for their connections to the continent. The government indicated that the agreement with Hongtai Investment Group was the second partnership with a Chinese company in this sector within six weeks.