Transporters rejoice as key Swazi flyway is completed

Facilitating traffic to Matsapha Industrial Estate James Hall SWAZILAND - An overhead flyway to facilitate traffic to and around the kingdom's Matsapha Industrial Estate, 25 kilometres east of Mbabane and near the commercial town Manzini, is swiftly nearing completion. While the construction of other public works projects and highways dawdles with customary delays, the quick work on the Matsapha traffic bridge "shows the squeaky wheel gets the oil," says Matsapha factory manager Brian Kimberly. Completed in late 1998, the Manzini to Mbabane highway comes to an abrupt halt at a traffic circle at Matsapha intended to route vehicles to different points. The circle has created congestion, accidents, and numerous complaints. Most vocal on behalf of an uninterrupted highway have been transport operators seeking an unimpeded path from the capital to Manzini. Matsapha's many industries, whose numbers are expanding with ongoing construction of new factory shells, have also registered their safety and convenience concerns with the transport ministry. "The overhead flyby is elevated, and has entrance and exit ramps to route traffic to the industrial site, the old national highway to Malkerns (agricultural district) and the university," says principal secretary Evart Madlopha of the Ministry of Transportation. Cost for the bridge was originally pegged at R21 million.