Rehabilitation works at Blantyre Cultural Centre (BCC) paused recently due to payment issues with contractor Opco Limited.
Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture spokesperson Macmillan Mwale said Monday that the rehabilitation of the amphitheatre would have finished by April this year but the contractor was not yet paid.
“The contractor could not proceed with the works because of payment, which has been outstanding since December 2025,” Mwale said.
He, however, said the Treasury had finally released the funds to pay the contractor.
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“The contractor will surely resume works soon because payment will be made in the next two to three weeks,” Mwale said.
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The current development means creatives in the country have to continue waiting for BCC’s reopening.
A visit to BCC recently showed some progress on the amphitheatre, whose roofing has been done but there are other final works that need to be finalised.
Director of Arts in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture Humphrey Mpondaminga recently admitted that rehabilitation works had been moving at a snail’s pace.
The government bought BCC, formerly French Cultural Centre, from the French Government at K300 million.
