In response to the official request of the Government of Malawi (GoM), the Government of Japan (GoJ) decided to conduct "the Study on Urban Development Master Plan for Lilongwe", which was entrusted to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in accordance with the Agreement on Technical Cooperation between GoM and GoJ signed on 15 November 2008. The Study was jointly carried out by JICA study team and Malawi's counterpart agency for a fourteenth-month period from June 2009 to September 2010. On 20 July 2011, the report on the Study of Urban Development Master Plan for Lilongwe City was approved by the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development.