Minister sets August deadline for Karonga irrigation scheme

Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Roza Mbilizi has set an August 2026 deadline for completion of the Malawi Government-funded multi-billion kwacha Nthola-Ilola Rice Irrigation Scheme in Karonga. However, the 2026/27 Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) indicates a deadline of 2029 for the same project which rolled out in 2020 at an initial cost of K18 billion. The minister, who is in the Northern Region touring various infrastructure under her ministry, said she will visit the scheme this week to appreciate what has been constructed so far.

Mbilizi said the government’s priority is rehabilitating already existing irrigation infrastructure instead of constructing new ones. She said: “Nthola-Ilola is a project under the GBA and apparently there is fraud in that project so it did not go as we thought it would. The previous government did a very bad job on the project and other irrigation projects.

“We are rehabilitating all irrigation schemes in the country. We want to upscale utilisation of the schemes because usage is at a very low level. As government, we want to have 12 000 hectares of land that is fully commercialised and mechanised.” National Planning Commission (NPC) touted the project as one of the key interventions to the Malawi 2063 First 10-Year Implementation Plan (MIP-1).

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NPC communications specialist Thom Khanje said in a written response yesterday that the Department of Economic Planning and Development is best-placed to give specific details on the project’s process and the amount of funds that have been allocated since it started. But he said as NPC, they still maintain that the project, like various other irrigation projects is ,key to the realisation of the MIP-1. In a written response yesterday, Treasury spokesperson Williams Banda said the project has two components, namely development of the irrigation scheme and construction of the rice factory.

He said the construction of the rice factory is expected to be finalised in the current financial year and the development of the irrigation scheme is expected to be finalised in 2028. The project has only received K3 billion since it rolled out in 2020, with only construction of a rice mill and water intake on Lake Malawi but GBA officials previously said it needs more money than the initial cost projection of K18 billion. The 2026/27 PSIP indicates that the estimated cost of the project at K33.7 billion with K3 billion to be disbursed in the 2026/27 financial year and the cumulative expenditure now stand at K15 billion. The Nthola Ilola Rice Scheme Project, which aims to develop at least 1000 hectares of irrigable land, includes rice production under irrigation, which will be processed and packaged for retail on local and international markets.

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