Restoring livelihoods and landscapes through improved watershed capacity, Malawi

SMEC Malawi has been appointed by the Ministry of Forestry and Natural Resources in Malawi to carry out the “Consulting services for feasibility study, preliminary engineering design, detailed engineering design and construction supervision of small and medium sized multipurpose dams including establishment of community based operational and maintenance institutional arrangements.”

Shire River in Malawi

The Government of Malawi has obtained a credit and grant from the International Development Association (IDA) to support efforts on landscape restoration and livelihoods enhancement in the Shire River Basin through the implementation of the Malawi Watershed Services Improvement Project (MWASIP). This project will increase the adoption of sustainable landscape management practices and improve watershed services in targeted watersheds, including parts of Mangochi, Balaka, Machinga, Zomba, Ntcheu, Blantyre and Neno Districts of Malawi.

During this project, SMEC will support the Client to prepare detailed feasibility study, preliminary engineering design, detailed engineering design and construction supervision of small and medium sized multipurpose dams, including establishment of community based operational and maintenance institutional arrangements in a timely and cost-effective way.

Once complete, the MWASIP will improve the livelihoods of local farming communities, address climate change vulnerabilities (flooding and drought), and improve or preserve the carbon sequestration capacity of the watersheds. This will also support further development of irrigation schemes, dams, high yielding boreholes, roads and bridges, and market centres in the basin.

The Client has carefully identified the potential 13 dam sites for this study with the involvement of Government Departments, District councils, local communities and other stakeholders. Proposed small and medium dam sites identified are in Shire River basin.

Location map of the 13 small & medium dams

The potential dam sites are proposed in the following Districts and specific catchments; Ntcheu District (upper Lisungwi catchment), Neno District (upper Wamkulumadzi catchment), Blantyre District (Blantyre/Kapichira catchment), Zomba and Machinga (Chingale catchment) and Balaka (Shire basin catchment) and Mangochi District (Shire basin catchment).

The consultancy services are divided into two phases, with a proposed total duration of 34 months:

Phase 1: Feasibility studies, preliminary engineering design and detailed engineering design and Tendering: 10 months

Phase 2: Construction supervision and DLP: 24 months

Location

Malawi

Client

Ministry of Forestry and Natural Resources Malawi & World Bank

Expertise

Dams Survey Sustainability Water Supply Water Resources Irrigation & Agriculture Construction Phase Services Environment and Social Impact Assessment

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Shire River in Malawi

Location map of the 13 small & medium dams

Recent

updates