Swaziland reopens fast route to Maputo

JAMES HALL
MBABANE - Mhlume border post to Mozambique re-opened last week after years of delay, re-establishing the shortest route from the Matsapha Industrial Estate/Manzini and Mbabane to Maputo.
The border post was closed during the Mozambican civil war, leaving only one (legal) exit route from Swaziland to Maputo, at Lomahasha. Swaziland’s new customs house sat idle for four years while Mozambique found funds to build a matching facility on its side. Swazi shippers complained that Mozambique was concentrating all its road infrastructure improvement on its South African connections, particularly the Komatipoort border post.
Transport industry sources said the new route would put pressure on Swaziland Railways by shortening road haulage times to the port of Maputo, which now becomes an equal or possibly more viable option to Swazi exporters than Durban, where the railway goes.
Two drawbacks: Mozambican visas are not yet available at Mhlume, and the area’s persistent drought has caused a water shortage at the facility.