State Vice President Saulos Chilima has ordered Plem Construction Limited to re-construct the Chikwawa- Chapananga Road.

Chilima made the remarks when he was assessing the progress of the construction work.

According Chilima, the road which has been constructed is substandard.

“I have pressed on the Contractor, Plem Construction, to redesign the first 10 km that they have worked on so far as opposed to proceeding with the current poor design of the road. We would rather pay more and have a durable and quality road than continuing with what I have seen.

“I have shot down the Contractor’s argument that the ‘poor’ design is because the road has less traffic. No. That’s a wrong mindset. It is like planning on the assumption that the people of this country will remain poor forever,” said Chilima

He added: “So the Contractor must go back to the drawing board. We can’t continue with the road in its current poor design.”

He said there is need for the company to redesign and re-construct the road.

Meanwhile Chilima has hailed progress on the Nsanje – Marka road which the Contractor said will be completed by March, 2021.