JAMES HALL
MBABANE - The African Development Bank has approved a R373 loan to construct the long-delayed highway bypassing Mbabane.
Road freight haulers will breathe a sigh of relief when they are able to travel from Oshoek Border Post, the most heavily utilised post for traffic to and from Gauteng, directly to the Matsapha Industrial Estate outside Manzini, 35 km east of the capital.
The bypass highway will connect with the newly completed Oshoek-Mbabane highway at the Sidwashini Industrial Estate, where most of Mbabane’s manufacturing and services companies are located.
Tender bids for the 11 km route will be considered next month by the Ministry of Works and Construction.
The African Development Bank was swayed by Swaziland’s rationale for the highway, Principal Secretary for the Public Works Ministry, Evart Madlopha, told FTW.
“We submitted that there is a need to upgrade the whole road from Matsapha to Oshoek into a dual carriageway so as to eliminate transportation bottlenecks and to provide an efficient and cost effective transport system for both national and international traffic,” Madlopha said.
Currently, road freight traffic has to lumber through downtown Mbabane, suffering a series of traffic signal delays. The new highway, scheduled for completion in two years, will provide a welcomed saving in time, distance and costs, road transport sources said.
Swaziland gets funding for vital highway
02 Feb 2004 - by Staff reporter
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