 TRANSPORT |
This is a crucial area in the development of landlocked Malawi. In order for goods to be moved to and from Malawi, there is a need to have a strong transport infrastructure and the policy of the current government is to provide this service as a much as possible. The responsibility of the government has been to build and ensure the efficient utilisation of a network of infrastructure and service appropriate to Malawi’s current developments requirements.
The closure of the country’s rail links to the Indian Ocean ports of Beira and Nacala during the Mozambican war in the early 80’s to mid 90’s necessitated the shifting to alternative but longer transport routes through South Africa and Tanzania. The completion of the Northern corridor route has meant that Malawi now has an alternative route to the sea, using the Tanzanian port of Dar-es-salaam.
| This has made the transportation of her imports less costly than the South African route through to Durban. A natural railway system links the southern region to the centre up to the Zambian border to the west of the country by a single line running from Blantyre to Salima on the lakeshore across to the capital Lilongwe, ending at Mchinji on the Zambia border.
Since independence, priority has been given to the nationwide road networks. The two main networks, both of them tarmac, run parallel to the north-south direction, one cutting across the centre of Malawi and the other taking in the lakeshore view from Mangochi in the south-end of Lake Malawi to Karonga on the northern tip. Another trunk road runs from Salima on the lakeshore to Mchinji on the western border with Zambia. The main trunk roads are connected to a network of secondary and feeder roads, many which are passable accept at the peak of the rainy season. |
