History of the SVTP

The Government of Malawi has been desirous to carry out irrigation development in the Shire Valley. The project was part of the government blueprint in the 1940s called Shire Valley Project which included hydropower development and construction of the Liwonde Barrage.

The Malawi Government has been interested in developing an agricultural irrigation scheme in the Shire Valley. The proposed project has been the subject of a number of surveys and studies. However, the output of these studies was insufficient to result into the preparation of a detailed project proposal acceptable for funding by donor agencies. However, one study among them, an AfDB-funded study by CODA and Partners in 2008, was intended to synthesize the outputs from the previous studies, and from this, it was proposed that a 42,000 ha irrigation project is feasible.

Over the years, the Government of Malawi has been carrying out a number of studies by itself and also through consultants.ย Some of the studies are listed below.

Previous Studies:

  • Hunting Technical Services Ltd (1980), National and Shire Irrigation Study;
  • Lower Shire Valley Irrigation Study (1997);
  • Coda/Ninham Shand Design Report (2005-2008)
  • A quick review of designs done by Coyne & Bรฉlier in 2010, hired by Illovo
  • PPP Options Study & Awareness Raising for Irrigation Investment in Malawi (Dec 2010);
  • Atkins (2011) Water Availability on the Shire River at Kapichira
  • African Water Facility (2012) SVIP Prefeasibility Study
  • Norplan; Study on Water Availability for Irrigation and Hydropower Production on Shire River at Kapichira Falls (April, 2013);
  • Various studies under the Shire River Basin Management Project