MZUNI ETIC - Ground Plus 3-Storey - Construction Takes Off

 

LILONGWE (13 February 2025): It has been three months since DEC Construction mobilized to construct the Ground+3-storey Entrepreneurial Training and Incubation Centre (ETIC) at Mzuzu University (MZUNI) in northern Malawi.

DEC Construction Projects Manager Ellard Malonda said the 14 day-mobilization period expired on November 11, 2024. It has been 3-months into construction works since then. Construction completed tasks include hoarding of a fence around the building site and demolishing the area to enable the setting out.

 

Entrance into MZUNI has also had to be shifted as it was located where the ETIC building will be standing when completed.

 

Malonda also said excavation of concrete bases measuring 5m x 3m and in some cases 7m x 8m thick have been completed consuming over 1,500 bags of cement for the stub column bases.

 

“We have done all excavations and the re-enforcement of all stub column bases,” he explained saying there are 31 in total each stub column standing at 2.5m high.

 

“The great thing is that all bases are concreted,” he said and added that “the concrete we have done is massive,” each measuring 5.3m x 3.2m x 0.5m.

 

The three months of construction work, however, have not been without challenges. There was some heavy downpour which disrupted the workflow as no concrete requires too much water. For one week, the incessant rain disrupted the workflow and the work schedule.

“When it rains, we stop to avoid compromising the quality of work,” Malonda said.

 

Some construction machinery also grumbled and faltered prompting a swift replacement of all those that gave problems.

 

The original construction site has underground water pipes by the Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) who demanded over MK10-million as a cost for the pipes to be re-routed. Malonda said the demand by NRWB for this amount of money was out of this world. This amount of money can fund some substantive construction work. Therefore, the site of the building has been relocated away from the underground water pipes.

 

Meanwhile, Malonda said there is good collaboration with the client and the consultant. If all lead times are incorporated with no challenges ahead such as bureaucracies and delayed payments when certificates are issued, construction of ETIC should be completed by January 2026 or even earlier than planned he stated.

 

The ETIC construction at MZUNI is funded by the World Bank under the 100-million US dollar SAVE Project. Implemented through the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ministry of Labour (MoL), the SAVE Project was rolled out in 2021 to benefit 31 participating institutions.

 

The institutions include nine public universities - Mzuzu University (MZUNI); University of Malawi (UNIMA); Kamuzu College of Health Sciences (KUHeS) (CoM); Kamuzu College of Health Sciences (KUHeS) (KCN); University of Malawi (UNIMA); Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR); Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), Domasi College of Education (DCE), and Nalikule College of Education (NCE).

 

There are also seven (7) national technical colleges including Livingstonia Technical College; Mzuzu Technical College; Lilongwe Technical College; Salima Technical College; Namitete Technical College; Nasawa Technical College and Soche Technical College and 15 community technical colleges across Malawi.

 

The objective for the SAVE Project is to increase equitable access to market-relevant skills in priority areas of the economy, especially for females and vulnerable youth. Targeted priority sectors include agriculture, tourism, transport, logistics, information and communication technology (ICT) and digital development, manufacturing, construction, energy, mining, climate resilience, and financial services.

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