Malawi President Mrs. Joyce Banda and Kenyan President Mr. Mwai Kibaki, who was on a three-day state visit to Malawi, officially launched the construction of the ADF financed Lilongwe West By-Pass Road Project, at a colourful ground breaking ceremony held on 17th January 2013 in Lilongwe.

AfDB Resident Representative in Malawi, Andrew Mwaba represented the Bank at the ceremony, which was also attended by cabinet ministers and senior officials from Kenya and Malawi.

The 13km road project, financed by the ADF for the amount of UA 14.32 million, forms part of the 1,033km Nacala Road Corridor running from Zambia through Malawi to the port of Nacala in Mozambique. During the function, President Joyce Banda thanked the AfDB for the continued support to Malawi's infrastructure development and economic growth agenda and poverty reduction efforts.

On his part President Mwai Kibaki said he was happy to report that the AfDB is also funding a lot of similar projects in Kenya and thanked the Bank for doing the same in Malawi and the whole of Africa.

In his remarks, Mwaba noted that ADF assistance for the project will permit efficient transit of goods, services and people, and will also generate additional jobs in the area during construction and maintenance, thereby generating incomes and improving livelihoods.

He reiterated the Bank's commitment to supporting development of Malawi's infrastructure in line with the country's Growth and Development Strategy II and the Economic Recovery Plan that put emphasis on strengthening national and regional infrastructure.