China boost revives Malawi’s Judicial complex dream

A stalled judicial project in Lilongwe is getting a new lease of life after China agreed to increase funding for the construction of the Judicial Service Complex.

Minister of Justice Charles Mhango told Parliament that Malawi has secured additional financing through a supplementary agreement with the Chinese government to increase the value of the project, which had been affected by delays and rising costs.

Mhango said the Chinese government has committed about 290 million Chinese yuan towards the project, a move expected to pave the way for construction to resume once Malawi fulfils its obligations.

“Just last Friday I signed a supplementary agreement with the Chinese government, in which they have pumped in more money, increasing the value of the project, so that the project can start and complete in earnest,” Mhango said.

The funding boost brings renewed hope to a project that is expected to transform Malawi’s justice system by creating a central judicial hub in Lilongwe.

The complex, which will be located opposite Parliament, is part of government’s plan to relocate key judicial institutions from Blantyre to the capital, where several government offices are already based.

Beyond courtrooms, the project will include the official residence of the Chief Justice and a Judicial Training Institute that will provide professional development opportunities for judges, magistrates and other judicial staff.

However, before the Chinese contractors begin full construction, government must complete its side of the agreement, including securing the project site by finishing the perimeter fence.

Mhango said the local contractor responsible for the perimeter works, Terrastone, is owed money, and government needs to settle the outstanding payment to allow the site to be handed over.

“For the Chinese contractors to come in and take over the site and start constructing the judicial complex, the site must first be secured,” Mhango said.

The revival of the project offers a new chapter for a structure that had become an eyesore, with overgrown trees and unfinished works dominating the site for years.