Swazi rail upgrade streamlines Lubombo route

JAMES HALL MBABANE – Swaziland Railway’s refurbished main east-west line was launched recently at the main rail hub at Mpaka, 60 km east of the railway’s Inland Container Depot. A host of dignitaries praised the project as vital to business and transport between South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland. The rail line upgrade was made possible by an R87 million loan from the Italian government, to be repaid at a low 1% rate of interest, and a R33 million loan from the Swaziland government. On hand for the dedication, King Mswati said the project to rehabilitate 111 kilometres of the line was considered part of the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative. LSDI was entered into by South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland to encourage business and transportation infrastructure development along the neighbouring countries’ shared Lubombo mountain range. Originally designed to haul iron ore to the port of Maputo, the country’s rail system today transports sugar and bulk food commodities, industrial raw materials and Swazi coal to Gauteng. The line may eventually be expanded westward beyond Swaziland’s border for a more direct link to Gauteng, and connect again eastward to Maputo.