The Malawi Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) says approval of Napoleon Dzombe’s proposed Mulalo Granular Fertilizer Production Factory in Dowa is pending because the developer has not submitted a revised environmental report, June 4, 2026. The authority says it cannot proceed with further consideration of the project until the revised Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report is submitted and assessed under Malawi’s environmental laws.
In a statement issued Thursday, MEPA said media reports suggesting that delays in the project approval process were solely attributable to the authority did not reflect the full timeline of the review process.
“The developer has not yet submitted the revised ESIA report addressing the comments raised during the technical review process. Consequently, the authority is unable to proceed with further consideration of the project until the revised report is submitted and assessed,” said MEPA in a statement
The clarification follows reports that Dzombe, founder of Mtalimanja Holdings Limited, said the fertilizer manufacturing plant in Dowa could not begin operations because the company had not yet secured a license from MEPA.
Dzombe reportedly said the plant had been expected to start production in April but faced delays after the project’s initial report was rejected.
But MEPA said the project brief for the proposed factory was submitted on March 24, 2025, and the authority prepared feedback by March 26, 2025 which was collected by the proponent April 1, 2025.
The authority said the preliminary ESIA report was later submitted on July 2, 2025, after which MEPA conducted an editorial review and communicated comments to the developer at the end of July 2025.
MEPA further said the developer was advised to address the editorial comments before the report could proceed to the technical review stage.
However, MEPA said the revised report was not submitted until March 2026, about nine months later.
“During this period, the formal review process could not proceed because the revised report had not yet been submitted to the authority,” MEPA said.
Upon receiving the revised report in March, MEPA said it initiated the formal review process. The report was reviewed by the Technical Committee of the Board in May, and review comments were later sent to the project developer for incorporation into a further revised report.
MEPA said its service charter provides for a technical review period of up to 60 working days from the date of receiving a complete submission. In this case, the authority said, the revised ESIA report was submitted in March and reviewed in May, which was within the prescribed service standard.
“The documented timeline clearly demonstrates that MEPA processed all submissions within the prescribed timelines and that significant delays arose from factors outside the authority’s control,” the authority said.
MEPA said it remains committed to processing development projects in a timely, transparent and professional manner while safeguarding environmental sustainability and compliance with Malawi’s laws and standards.
The authority said it will continue processing the application for the proposed Mulalo Granular Fertilizer Production Factory immediately after receiving the revised ESIA report from the developer.