LILONGWE, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- China Railway 20th Bureau Group (CR20) on Tuesday started asphalt pavement works for the rehabilitation of a 60-km stretch on Malawi's M5 Road to ease transportation pressure of goods and people along the lakeshore districts.

The project involves constructing asphalt pavement from Kaphatenga in Salima district to Benga in Nkhotakota district on the M5 Road along Lake Malawi, the third largest freshwater body in Africa. The M5 Road is a crucial route in Malawi as it joins the southern, central, and northern regions, before feeding into M1, the country's backbone road, which runs up north to the border with Tanzania.

Cheng Jun, manager of the project, told Xinhua that CR20 has already deployed equipment to the construction site where an asphalt mixing plant is established for continuous production of asphalt mixture, while other equipment includes one asphalt paver, one asphalt distributor, 10 dumping trucks, and rollers.

According to Cheng, the design of the asphalt pavement is two-lane with a width of 3.35 meters each, and a shoulder width of 1.5 meters on either side, bringing the total width of the road to 9.7 meters.

"We have purchased a large intelligent asphalt mixing plant and a paver from China, and hired professional personnel for asphalt pavement construction to guarantee the quality of asphalt pavement construction," Cheng said. "Meanwhile, all the materials for asphalt pavement have been tested and qualified. The parameters of pavement construction will be collected through the trial section of the asphalt pavement, and it will be optimized to ensure that the pavement construction process meets the project construction specification."

The construction works on the ground include clearing and grubbing, earthwork, culvert, bridge, asphalt concrete pavement, drainage, road signs, and marking.

The Kaphatenga-Benga Road Reconstruction project has employed thousands of locals and trained more than 100 road construction technicians, with nearly 50 local employees promoted to the management team, according to the contractor.

Overton Mfune, one of the local employees, is the laboratory manager of the project, leading a laboratory team of eight people who are responsible for all the test work of the project. Mfune is optimistic that the expertise of the Chinese company will produce quality work that Malawians are looking forward to.

"From the selection of raw materials to the asphalt mixture proportion test, we have repeatedly done tests and demonstrations. During the whole construction process, the laboratory team strictly tracks and checks all the parameters, and I hope that we will make great efforts with the Chinese company to build a high-quality road for my hometown," said Mfune.

Another local employee named Emmanuel Gwazantini said: "When completed, the road will strengthen traffic flow and support the development of agriculture, fishery, and tourism in nearby villages and towns." Enditem

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