Malawi’s Lifeline Pipeline: Salima–Lilongwe Water Project Nears Key Milestones
In Lilongwe’s crowded neighborhoods, some families see tap water just once a month – and only in the dead of night. These scenes of scarcity underscore a water crisis the government hopes to end with a mega-infrastructure initiative: the Salima–Lilongwe Water Supply Project. In a nation grappling with droughts, cholera outbreaks and economic strain, the project is being hailed as a game-changer for public health and development. Officials tout it as a flagship investment in Malawi’s future, even as communities count the days until clean water flows at last.
Steady Progress on a $351m Vision
The long-awaited pipeline scheme is now well into construction after years of delays. As of late September 2025, the project reached 35% physical completion. Key infrastructure is rapidly taking shape across multiple sites: at Lifuwu on Lake Malawi’s shore, a new water treatment plant, pumping stations and reservoirs are rising, while booster pump stations at Katengeza and Mvera are well advanced. In Dowa’s highlands, break-pressure tanks and storage reservoirs have progressed to roofing stage, and crews have begun laying the first stretches of the 120-kilometre pipeline that will carry water to Lilongwe.
Project managers are confident the timeline is on track. “We are making good progress… Most concrete works will have been finished by December,” says Valentine Kaupa, Chief Executive of the Salima–Lilongwe Water Supply Company. The consortium building the system – a joint venture of Khato Civils (Malawi/South Africa) and South Zambezi – expects to start delivering water to some areas well before completion. The first phase, a 50-km segment feeding Salima District, is slated to pump water by March 2026, benefiting an estimated 1.5 million people. Full project completion is targeted for early 2027. By then, the pipeline will be capable of supplying 100 million litres of potable water per day from Lake Malawi to Lilongwe City, also feeding towns and villages along the route. This volume – roughly 80% increase over Lilongwe’s current water supply – promises to secure the capital’s needs for decades ahead.
On the ground, contractor activities reflect a high-paced effort. At construction camps stretching from Salima to Lilongwe’s outskirts, hundreds of workers are installing giant steel water mains, erecting pump houses, and welding together tower cranes that loom over partially built tanks. The pipeline path, which roughly parallels the M14 road, is marked by freshly dug trenches cutting through scrubland and farms. Thus far, the project has maintained a strong safety record – officials report “zero major accidents” in recent months – and adherence to environmental safeguards, an important point in a project of this scale. As October 2025 began, procurement of key electro-mechanical components was underway to equip the pump stations and treatment plant. Barring unforeseen hurdles, authorities and engineers express optimism that Lilongwe’s taps will gush with Lake Malawi water in 2026, offering relief to millions and vindicating a bold infrastructure bet.
A City Running Dry: Lilongwe’s Water Crisis
For residents of Lilongwe, relief cannot come soon enough. The capital city – home to about 1.1 million people – faces chronic water stress. The Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) admits it cannot meet demand: the city needs roughly 151 million litres per day but the utility manages to produce only about 125 million litres. That leaves a 26 million-litre daily deficit, manifesting in dry taps and rationing. In some areas, water flows from the municipal supply just once a week or even once a month, often at odd hours. “We are struggling. We don’t know when this problem will end,” laments Noria Nyirongo, a resident of Area 23, who says her household sometimes goes weeks without running water. Another Lilongwe resident, Catherine Chimlala of Area 47, says her family endures up to two days with no water at a time, resorting to buying water from a private well for cooking and drinking. Such stories are common across the city’s townships.
Behind Lilongwe’s water woes lies a combination of rapid urban growth and aging infrastructure. The number of LWB customers jumped from about 81,700 in 2020 to 140,600 in 2024, a reflection of population growth and network expansion. Demand in the metropolitan area has surged over 70% in recent years, outstripping the capacity of the two main dams and treatment plants that supply the city. Until recently, Lilongwe’s main reservoir could store only a few million cubic meters of water; that capacity has now been expanded five-fold to 25 million (units) to buffer supplies. But storage means little if inflows are low: recurring droughts and power blackouts have further constrained water production. The 2023–24 El Niño-induced drought severely reduced river levels in parts of Malawi, prompting acute water shortages. Meanwhile, electricity outages (Malawi’s hydropower output has been hit by low lake levels and infrastructure damage) frequently shut down LWB’s pumps. “One of the major causes of the recent interruptions has been power outages, which affect our pumping systems,” LWB CEO Sili Mbewe noted, explaining the utility’s efforts to install solar backups at treatment plants.
For many Lilongwe households, the coping strategies are arduous. Those who can afford it drill private boreholes or buy water from vendors; the poor often queue at communal wells or scoop water from polluted streams. In peri-urban areas and nearby districts like Dowa, women rise at 3 a.m. to fetch water and may still return home with empty pails when supply runs out. “We are on long queues for hours only to draw water around mid-day. Sometimes we return home with dry pails,” says Ms. Patulani, describing the daily scramble at the sole borehole in Yapola village, Dowa. The shared well serves people and livestock alike, and fights over the scant water are not uncommon. “The high demand and scramble for water [here] sparks disputes… In the past, we relied on rivers. They dried up. The Salima–Lilongwe project will, without a doubt, improve the situation,” adds another villager, Rosemary Yosefe, hopeful that an end to “walking long distances looking for water” is in sight.
Government officials acknowledge the severity of the crisis. President Lazarus Chakwera has described the lake-to-capital pipeline as “one of the major milestones” in addressing Malawi’s water needs, underscoring its significance for both local communities and urban growth. Hopeson Chaima, of the Water and Environmental Sanitation Network, warns that immediate measures are needed in the interim – “Emergency supply measures, equitable rationing, and public updates are critical. People need access to safe water now”. But ultimately, lasting relief hinges on new supply. That is why the Salima–Lilongwe project carries such expectations: by tapping the vast waters of Lake Malawi – Africa’s third-largest lake – and piping them to the dry capital, Malawi aims to climate-proof its water system and quench the thirst of a growing city.
Health Benefits: Battling Cholera and Disease
Clean water is not just a convenience – in Malawi, it is a matter of life and death. Over the past two years the country suffered its worst cholera outbreak in recorded history, a deadly epidemic that infected more than 58,000 people and claimed over 1,700 lives. The outbreak, spanning 2022–2023, struck all regions and was fueled by the “use of unsafe water sources [and] limited access to sanitation” according to the UN. Cities like Lilongwe and Blantyre were hit hard as uncollected garbage and intermittent water service forced residents to draw water from contaminated wells and rivers. Even in 2024, cholera cases persisted in pockets with poor water access. “Most people who present with diarrhea are children under five. When this project is completed, such waterborne diseases will go down,” stresses Yananga Mwase, the clinician in charge at a rural health centre in Dowa District. In 2023, a cholera flare-up in that area infected 196 people and killed two before subsiding – a grim reminder that unsafe water and sanitation allow pathogens to thrive.
By delivering treated water at scale, the Salima–Lilongwe project could drastically improve public health outcomes. Research shows that families with reliable clean water have far lower incidence of diarrhea and related illnesses. In Malawi, diarrheal disease – much of it linked to poor water and hygiene – is a leading killer of young children and a major drain on the health system. Each year, the country’s economy loses an estimated $43 million from premature deaths due to diarrhea, plus another $12 million in direct health care costs for treating it. That burden strains an already under-resourced healthcare budget. According to WaterAid, nearly 10.9% of Malawi’s annual health spending is absorbed by treating infections that better water, sanitation and hygiene could prevent. Providing communities with safe water is one of the most cost-effective health interventions: it curbs the spread of waterborne illnesses like cholera, dysentery, and typhoid, and reduces malnutrition caused by chronic diarrhea in children.
The ripple effects extend to healthcare facilities as well. Half of Malawi’s clinics lack basic handwashing facilities and clean water, contributing to high rates of infections acquired in hospitals and maternity wards. By ensuring a more reliable water supply for the capital and surrounding districts, officials say the project will enable hospitals to maintain hygiene standards and free up resources otherwise spent on water trucking during outages. “Clean water, decent sanitation and good hygiene are the first line of defense against infection,” says Kelly Parsons, CEO of WaterAid America, noting that infections in African healthcare facilities currently cost billions and claim thousands of lives. The hope is that consistent access to lake water will help turn the page on Malawi’s cycle of water-related disease outbreaks – from cholera wards filled with patients, to under-five clinics treating endless cases of diarrhea – and relieve some pressure on doctors and nurses. In turn, a healthier population would bolster the country’s productivity and ease the burden on its fragile economy.
Social and Economic Impacts: Time Saved, Lives Transformed
Beyond health, the social implications of the new water pipeline are profound. In Malawi, as in much of sub-Saharan Africa, water scarcity stunts economic potential in myriad ways – especially for women. The task of fetching water falls disproportionately on women and girls. In more than 88% of Malawian households, a female member is responsible for collecting water, often from distant sources. This unpaid, exhausting labor consumes hours each day. Studies show Malawian women in rural areas spend 9 times longer than men on the combined chore of fetching water and firewood, sometimes trekking back and forth with heavy buckets multiple times daily. Even in urban slums, women rise early to queue at communal taps or vendors. The opportunity cost is enormous: time that could be spent in school, at work, or caring for family is instead lost to walking for water. One survey found 8% of school-age girls in Malawi had arrived late or missed class due to water collection duties, nearly triple the rate for boys. Not surprisingly, schools with nearby water see higher attendance, especially among girls.
Relieving this burden is often described as restoring dignity and opportunity. “The high demand for water [now] creates problems among women… The Salima–Lilongwe Water project will, without a doubt, improve the situation. We shall no longer need to walk long distances,” says Rosemary Yosefe, expressing the anticipation shared by many mothers who juggle water chores with other responsibilities. The pipeline won’t reach every village, but it will expand the grid of piped water and allow the utility to extend more connections in peri-urban and rural communities along its route. Even in areas not directly connected, reducing pressure on overused boreholes and wells may shorten queues and conflicts. For women, closer access to safe water means hours reclaimed each day – hours that can be redirected to farming, running a small business, or simply rest. Moreover, it eliminates the physical toll of carrying water: currently a typical Malawian woman may haul 20-liter jerrycans (about 20kg each) on her head, leading to chronic neck and back pain (one study found 68% of women who regularly fetch water reported spinal pain). Ending such drudgery is an intangible quality-of-life improvement that development economists often roll into the concept of human dignity.
The project’s boosters also tout its macro-economic benefits. With reliable water, Lilongwe’s potential for growth could be unlocked. Industries and businesses depend on water for operations; in recent years water shortages have constrained housing construction, manufacturing and even tourism in the capital. “This ground-breaking project will be a catalyst for growth as it will improve drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and wastewater management. It will see the growth of industries and the manufacturing sector leading to the rise of new towns,” says Simbi Phiri, Executive Chairman and entrepreneur par-excellence whose Pan African firm Khato Civils in partnership with South Zambezi are leading construction.
Phiri, argues that investors are more likely to build factories or offices in Lilongwe once water security is assured. “It will also drive growth in foreign direct investment since many companies consider water resources when making decisions about where to invest or locate their facilities,” he adds.
Indeed, the project’s scale – claimed to be the largest of its kind in the Southern African region – sends a signal that Malawi is addressing critical infrastructure gaps. Urban planners say a dependable water supply will facilitate new housing developments and could eventually enable satellite towns to grow along the pipeline corridor between Salima and Lilongwe. Already, secondary benefits are envisioned: for example, local authorities in Salima District expect that drawing water for Lilongwe will also allow small-scale irrigation schemes and improved water access for farmers and cattle herders en route. In drought-prone central Malawi, having a big straw into Lake Malawi could buffer agriculture against rainfall variability, though the project’s primary mandate is municipal water supply.
Civil society leaders stress that such infrastructure brings generational change. “These are the projects that the Malawi government should invest in. It is a futuristic project – it will go beyond a generation, and it will improve the country’s economy,” says Gift Trapence, chair of the Human Rights Defenders Coalition, praising the long-term vision. Another advocate, Undule Mwakasungula, calls the pipeline “long overdue” and emphasizes that meeting the construction deadline is critical “so that communities along the pipeline can access potable water… The importance of this project cannot be over-emphasized”. Their comments reflect an understanding that water underpins nearly every development goal – from reducing poverty and hunger to improving education and gender equality.
Alignment with Vision 2063 and SDG Goals
The Salima–Lilongwe Water Supply Project is a transformative undertaking that aligns closely with Malawi’s Vision 2063 pillars – boosting urban development, fueling industrial growth, and investing in human capital through better health and gender equality. At the same time, it drives progress on key SDGs like clean water (SDG 6), good health (SDG 3), gender equality (SDG 5), and infrastructure/industry (SDG 9). Official statements from Malawi’s leaders and partners consistently link this project to the country’s long-term vision and global goals. Former Minister for Water and Sanitation Abida Mia noted, this initiative reflects the government’s commitment to improve citizens’ welfare and “is part of … SDG 6 goals for clean water access by 2030”. By delivering safe water at scale, the Salima–Lilongwe project stands as a practical milestone toward Vision 2063’s ambitious promise of an inclusively developed, healthy, and prosperous Malawi.
Financing Malawi’s Mega-Pipeline
Delivering on such a transformative promise requires navigating a complex financial path. The Salima–Lilongwe Water Supply Project comes with a hefty price tag of about US$351 million. Mobilizing that funding has been an evolving saga. Initial estimates in 2017 ran as high as $500 million, prompting controversy and scrutiny over costs. The project was stalled for years by financing and regulatory hurdles, until a change of government in 2020 revived it as a priority. Under President Chakwera’s administration, the contract was finalized with Khato Civils – which had won the bid earlier – at a revised cost of roughly $315 million. Khato Civils’ billionaire owner Simbi Phiri, determined to prove his company’s capability, even fronted $71.2 million of his own funds for design works, surveys and preparatory processes before construction formally began.
Crucially, the financing structure leans on local and regional capital. Two Malawian commercial banks – NBS Bank and CDH Investment Bank – spearheaded a syndicate to fund the project, providing loans backed by a government guarantee. This marks a shift from reliance on foreign donors toward tapping domestic finance for infrastructure. Observers say it reflects both necessity (traditional donors were hesitant due to the project’s environmental questions early on) and opportunity (local banks saw a chance to invest in a high-profile national project). The Malawi government’s role has been to guarantee the loans and secure the pipeline’s revenue stream – essentially allowing the project to proceed off-budget and be paid back over time through water tariffs. However, this approach does saddle the government with contingent liabilities. Ensuring that Lilongwe Water Board can eventually sell enough water to repay the debt will be critical to the project’s financial success. So far, authorities remain upbeat: the pipeline is anticipated to stimulate so much economic activity and new water connections that revenues will grow organically.
International partners have played a relatively limited role compared to other African water projects. The African Development Bank and World Bank, for instance, are funding separate water and sanitation upgrades in Lilongwe (including distribution networks and new local treatment works), but not the Salima pipeline directly. The Chinese and other usual financiers were notably absent, partly because the Malawian contractor already had financing plans in hand. However, experts note that foreign currency will be needed for importing pipes, pumps and equipment – and Malawi’s ongoing foreign exchange shortages could pose a risk if not managed.
Khato Civils, known for delivering world class projects in sub-Saharan African, has sourced specialized materials such as high-capacity Tesmec trenchers (machines that can dig 2 km of pipeline trench per day) to speed up construction. Each trencher cost around $2 million and was imported from abroad. Securing the remaining electro-mechanical components from international suppliers is one of the last big hurdles, but project officials in October 2025 expressed confidence that procurement was on schedule.
For Malawi, the pipeline’s financing model is being closely watched. If successful, it could bolster the case for investing in infrastructure as a catalyst for development, even amid fiscal tightness. The project’s $351 million budget is equivalent to roughly 2.5% of Malawi’s GDP, a significant sum for one endeavor. Yet the cost of inaction – continued water shortages, disease, and lost productivity – is also enormous. “Malawi needs such kind of impactful projects which can change the economic fortunes of the country,” one commentator wrote amid past delays. The coming years will reveal whether the bold bet pays off by delivering both water and growth.
A New Era Flows Forth
As completion approaches, anticipation is building on the shores of Lake Malawi and in the capital’s dusty townships. At Lifuwu, where giant intake pumps will draw water from the lake’s blue expanse, engineers are laying the last pipes and fitting intake screens. In Lilongwe’s Area 25, residents chat excitedly about the prospect of consistent running water – something not experienced in living memory for some. “I am very excited. We have suffered [from water problems] for so long,” says Mercy, a mother of three, describing how her family often rationed a single bucket of water through days of outages. Officials are cautious but hopeful. “The aim is to have the beneficiaries start getting water as early as 2026,” project engineer Tinofirei Mawanza said during a site visit, noting that some communities will receive water even before the entire pipeline is finished. If all goes to plan, by the end of 2026 water will be flowing in Salima and Dowa, and by 2027 Lilongwe City will at last taste the fruits of this ambitious venture.
The Salima–Lilongwe Water Supply Project is more than an engineering feat; it has become a symbol of hope and self-reliance in Malawi. It demonstrates what is possible when political will converges with community need and innovative financing. “It stands as a testament to the possibilities that arise when political will is united with the needs of the community,” an editorial in one local paper proclaimed. Certainly, challenges remain – from managing the pipeline sustainably to extending last-mile distribution so that even poorer households benefit. But for now, Malawians are allowing themselves to imagine a better future: one where clean water is abundant, hospitals are safer, businesses can thrive, and women no longer shoulder the cruel burden of the daily water hunt.
In a country nicknamed “the Warm Heart of Africa,” a reliable flow of water could help that heart beat stronger – nourishing the populace and economy alike.
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