Escom plans K90bn mixed-use complex

Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) Limited has unveiled plans to demolish the burnt Escom House in Blantyre and put up a K90 billion mixed-use complex.

The new plan is a departure from initial plans to rehabilitate the structure along Haile Selassie Road in Blantyre central business district that has remained largely unused since the October 2013 fire.

In a written response to a questionnaire last week, Escom chief public relations and communications officer Pilirani Phiri said the latest decision was made after a comprehensive reassessment of the building.

He said: “The project timeline was adjusted following a strategic shift in direction. While the initial plan was to rehabilitate the existing fire-gutted structure, a comprehensive assessment over the past few months revealed that a complete redevelopment is a more viable, long-term solution.”

Part of the the burnt Escom House in Blantyre. | Nation

Phiri said the proposed development will comprise office space, retail shop, hospitality facilities and other commercial amenities designed to maximise the value of the site.

“ It will be a landmark building and a new face of Blantyre. It has been long overdue,” he said.

Blantyre City Council Mayor Isaac Jomo Osman welcomed Escom’s proposed plans and said the council has continuously engaged the power utility over the state of the building.

“We cannot continue to see such buildings in the city. The building is a menace. It poses security risks because thieves could be hiding in it,” he said.

A confidential report titled ‘Report on building and unleashing Escom’s potential in the new environment’ dated February 7 2019 indicated that a task team detailed a failure of procurement, stores, distribution and financial management functions as well as indiscipline and a poor organisation culture as factors that delayed rehabilitation of Escom House.

Escom had in 2017 cancelled a K675 million tender bid for a contract to demolish the burnt building after it was heavily criticised following a public uproar that the cost could have been lower.

In 2021, it announced plans to construct a 20-storey headquarters estimated at K15 billion.

However, governance watchdogs have questioned the repeated changes in the project’s direction.

Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willie Kambwandira said the shifting plans for over a decade point to weaknesses in governance and public resource management.

He said the proposed K75 billion to K90 billion redevelopment should be supported by independent feasibility studies, detailed cost estimates and transparent procurement processes.

There were two separate assessments done by Romana Consulting Engineers and the Department of Buildings in the Ministry of Transport and Public Works in 2014 and 2017, respectively.

The ministry’s assessment recommended the demolition of the structure, but did not consider the cost of demolition and another option of retrofitting and rehabilitation of the building.

On the other hand, Romana Consulting Engineers, the structural engineers, presented option A which recommended the partial demolition of only the damaged first floor and option B for complete demolition of the building.

Escom received K1.3 billion from Nico General Insurance Company Limited for the burnt house and the corporation indicated in 2021 that the funds were intact.

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