MALAWI ROADS PHASA II

THE MINISTRY OF WORKS & SUPPLIES WILL IMPLEMENT THE PROJ. CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE UPGRADING THE EXISTING EARTH-SURFACED ROAD TO A BITUMINOUS ROAD,REALIGNMENT OF A SECTION OF THE ROAD (REDUCING ITS LENGTH BY 4 MI) AND CONSTRUCTION OF SEVERAL BRIDGES. THIS ROAD SERVES ONE OF MALAWI"S MOST PRODUCTIVE AGRICULTURAL AREAS AND SERVES AS THE MAJOR MALAWI-ZAMBIA TRADE ROUTE (ALSO ZAMBIA"S ONLY ACCESS TO MOZAMBIQUE PORTS). US FORMS WILL BE CONTRACTED FOR SUPERVISORY ENGINEERING AS WELL AS CONSTRUCTION SERVICES. THE ROAD & PAVEMENT DESIGN FOR THE PROPOSED PROJ SHOULD REQUIRE A MINIMUM OF MAINTENANCE FOR THE FIRST 5 YRS AFTER THE PROJ"S COMPLETION. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT LABOR INTENSIVE METHODS WILL BE USED FOR CLEARING RIGHT-OF-WAY,BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION,CULVERT INSTALLATION AND MISCELLANEOUS WORK SUCH AS INSTALLATION OF SIGNS,CAMP CONSTRUCTION,RIP-RAPPING CULVERT AND BRIDGE SLOPES. LOCAL LABOR WILL BE EMPLOYED TO THE EXTENT AVAILABLE. ALL EARTHWORK,SUBBASE, BASE & SURFACING WILL BE BUILT USING CAPITAL INTENSIVE METHODS. USAID WILL ALSO PROVIDE STEEL BEAMS,REINFORCING STEEL, AND CULVERTING AND CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT. HOST-COUNTRY WILL PROVIDE PERSONNEL AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT. PRIMARY BENEFICIARIES ARE FARMERS,MERCHANTS, AND ORDINARY CITIZENS FOR WHOM IMPROVED TRANSPORTATION WILL BE PROVIDED.