Water, sanitation and solid waste management is expected to improve Blantyre City and the surrounding areas with the coming of a $148.5 million (K151.8 billion) Malawi Water and Sanitation Project-1 (MWSP-1).

The project, which is targeting close to 480 000 people will start this month once the World Bank declares it effective.

Consumers buy water at one of the kiosks

The five-year project will be run by Blantyre Water Board (BWB), Blantyre City Council (BCC) and Ministry of Water and Sanitation.

In an interview on the sidelines of the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday in Blantyre, BWB chief executive officer Robert Hanjahanja described MWSP-1 as “a game-changer”.

He said the project will raise the city’s water and sanitation standards which in recent years have gone down.

Said Hanjahanja: “We are actually very excited as Blantyre Water Board that for the first time in a long time we are working together with Blantyre City Council to bring improvements to this city as you know that standards have gone down in the past few years in terms of water supply, in terms of sanitation and how the city looks”.

He also said components of the MoU stipulate that the role of BWB will specifically be on water supply.

He said, among others, this will include bringing new water tanks, pipelines, pumps and meters, as most of such infrastructure is old.

Further, Hanjahanja said BCC on its part will focus on sanitation, citing rehabilitation and replacement of sewerage systems.

BCC director of human resource management and development Alfred Nyengo, in a separate interview, said MWSP-1 marks a milestone in the institution’s quest to improve service delivery.

“It is an exciting moment for us, especially seeing a corporate partner taking a specific role in addressing issues affecting lives of people, specifically within Blantyre,” he said.

Nyengo said BCC through MWSP-1 will also be processing refuse into different products that will benefit the city’s residents.

Ministry of Water and Sanitation Principal Secretary Elias Chimulambe said government anticipates that the project will meet its dealine.

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