President Lazarus Chakwera, Chancellor of the Mzuzu University (MZUNI) and all public universities in Malawi has officially tilled the ground for construction of state-of-the-art Entrepreneurs Training and Incubation Centre (ETIC) building.
A local contractor DEC Construction, has been awarded the contract to construct the facility at the institution’s campus situated in Luwinga township in Mzuzu city in the Northern Region.
The ETIC will be four storeys high and cover 3,650 square metres, with an estimated capacity of 2,000 people. It will consist of various facilities for technical, entrepreneurial and vocational education and training (TEVET) on the subjects of information and communications technology (ICT) and energy systems.
The centre will include a 500-seater lecture theatre, 16 laboratories and a testing centre, eight offices, two workshops and four classrooms. The project includes associated external works such as access roads and parking areas.
The scheme is expected to cost an estimate of MK7 billion (about US$4 million) and is scheduled to be completed within 15-18 months.
“Once completed, the centre will foster human capital development in renewable energy and [ICT],” said MZUNI deputy vice-chancellor Wapulumuka Mulwafu.
The ETIC project is part of the US$100 million World Bank-funded Skills for a Vibrant Economy (SAVE) scheme, which aims to increase access in Malawi to skills development programmes targeting priority areas of the economy in participating educational institutions.
Similar projects are expected to take off at University of Malawi (UNIMA); two campuses of Kamuzu College of Health Sciences (KUHeS); Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR); Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST); Domasi College of Education (DCE); and Nalikule College of Education (NCE).
The infrastructure boom is also earmarked for technical college campuses, namely Livingstonia Technical College; Mzuzu Technical College; Lilongwe Technical College; Salima Technical College; Namitete Technical College; Nasawa Technical College; and Soche Technical College, along with 15 community technical colleges across the country.
Launched in 2021, the SAVE scheme has allocated 33% of its funds as of October and is scheduled for completion in June 2026. Over its lifespan, it is expected to positively impact 45,000 university students and 65,000 technical and vocational students. The project implementing agencies are the Ministries of Education and Labour.
KUHeS, will benefit an integrated three-storey teaching facility incorporating its School of Dentistry and Innovation (SDI) at its Blantyre campus. The building will cover a floor area of 3,500 square metres and include a teaching facility, dental clinic, offices, a car park and other ancillary infrastructure. Work is planned to be carried out over 18 months at an estimated cost of Malawian Kwacha 5 billion.
KUHeS is also planning to build a teaching complex and an ODeL hub at its Lilongwe campus. The development will cover about 3,000 square metres and include offices, seminar rooms, laboratories, an administrative section, a mortuary, a car park and ancillary facilities. The estimated cost of the project is Malawian Kwacha 9 billion.
Meanwhile, Domasi College of Education is targeting the construction of state-of-the-art open distance and e-learning centre (ODeL) building comprising two storeys which will cover an area of 2,000 square metres. It is expected to accommodate classrooms; offices; a printing room; a studio; a computer lab; a conference and boardroom; a car parking area; and other facilities.
MUST is targeting the construction of a lecture theatre building covering 1,650 square metres at its campus in the Thyolo district at a total cost of Malawian Kwacha 1.5 billion. The building’s components include lecture theatres, offices, boardrooms, meeting rooms, other ancillary facilities and car parking.
MUST is also looking to rehabilitate its ODeL centres in Chankhanga and Nansomba as well as the MUST Dam area.
On the other hand, an undergraduate teaching complex is earmarked for construction at the University of Malawi in Zomba at an estimated cost of MK 4 billion.
The SAVE scheme is set to complement the Malawian government’s efforts in skills development and is closely aligned with national priorities for tertiary education, including more efficient use of tertiary education funding through the expansion of infrastructure and broadening access to blended and distance learning.
