New Swazi airport reaffirms ‘white elephant’ status

The winning football team will have hoisted the Fifa World Cup at least a month before the now-declared opening date of Swaziland’s new international airport, a costly and controversial project whose original raison d’étre was to serve visitors to the games. “The airport will be operational in August,” Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini told reporters last week. However, the terminal building won’t be completed until year’s end at the earliest. Construction is under way at Sikhupe, 45 minutes east of Manzini. Key to the project is a divided highway connecting to Manzini, but no date has been set to commence construction. Meanwhile, airport costs have escalated from an original estimate of R1.5 billion to R7.5 billion. This is consistent with the ballooning costs of Swazi public works projects, like the new Mbabane by-pass road. The IMF says that given Swaziland’s commercial realities and governmental budgetary limits the airport is an extravagance that is unnecessary and unaffordable. The new airport’s main runway is finished. It has been built to accommodate wide-bodied planes, which Swaziland’s current airport at Matsapha cannot handle. Blocks and debris cover the tarmac to prevent premature usage by planes. The problem is, once the stones are removed, no airline has committed itself to use the facility. A source at the only airline currently serving Swaziland said flights would have no choice but to relocate to Sikhupe if government moves customs officers there from Matsapha. Airfreight couriers will have to factor an additional hour road travel time to Matsapha from Sikhupe.