Simbi to build Malawi’s tallest ‘twin towers’ in Lilongwe

South Africa-based Malawian billionaire businessperson Simbi Phiri, who was awarded a multimillion kwacha water project, reportedly plans to construct  Malawi’s tallest twin towers in the capital Lilongwe.

The structures are projected to stand next to each other at City Centre, Opposite Reserve Bank of Malawi, behind Pacific Hotel.

Once complete, the towers will include 20 floors  and there will be an  underground car park, shopping mall and offices a springboard for transformation.

This project will be under Khato Civils and its sister company South Zambezi.

The Malawi government awarded Phiri’s Khato Civils a $500 million (K400 billion) Salima-Lilongwe Water Project contract over which the Malawi Law Society challenged  it  to court, arguing that the project cannot proceed without the department furnishing it with a report of the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) conducted on the project to tap water from Lake Malawi in line with the laws.

But Supreme Court Judge Lovemore Chikopa MLS for failing to understand the nitty-gritties of the contract. The contract that Khato Civils signed with Lilongwe Water Board is what is known as “Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract”

The judge said MLS erred by demanding an Environmental Impact Assessment at a time the project is only in ‘Engineering and Procurement’ stages. He said MLS should have waited up until Construction stage had commenced.

He also quashed MLS’s argument that Khato Civils is already moving equipment to Malawi saying the company is right to flaunt their capabilities by making sure that all required machinery is on site before Construction stage starts.

Khato will pump water from Lake Malawi in Salima to Lilongwe passing through Salima and Dowa districts.

Simbi told the media that he has funded President Peter Mutharika’s governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as well as the main opposition grouping Malawi Congress Party (MCP), and its leader, Lazarus Chakwera.

“You cannot do a project in an environment without knowing the technocrats, the politicians and the community, these are stakeholders…. We have to engage,” he was quoted as saying.