Eswatini Foreign Contractors Won US$371 Million of Work
ESWATINI · ECONOMY
Key Facts
- —The country Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, is a small landlocked kingdom between South Africa and Mozambique, ruled by King Mswati III as Africa’s last absolute monarch.
- —What happened On Monday 12 October, the Times of Eswatini reported that foreign contractors did E6.13 billion (about US$371 million) of construction work in 2025/26.
- —Why it matters That sum equals about 79% of the E7.78 billion (about US$471 million) the government budgeted for all capital projects in 2026/27.
- —The numbers Foreign firms ran 25 of 558 registered projects, or 4.5%, yet held 54.5% of the E11.24 billion (about US$680 million) total.
- —The jump A year earlier, foreign contractors registered just 8 projects worth E16.9 million (about US$1 million), the Construction Industry Council’s report shows.
- —Still open The regulator does not name the foreign firms, their home countries or who paid for the three civil-engineering projects behind most of the money.
Foreign contractors carried out E6.13 billion (about US$371 million) of construction work in Eswatini in the 2025/26 financial year, the kingdom’s construction regulator says. That is close to 79% of the E7.78 billion (about US$471 million) the government set aside for all capital projects in 2026/27.
For US engineering firms, equipment suppliers and investors, the data show who wins the big contracts in this small kingdom. The privately owned daily Times of Eswatini set the figures, from a report posted on 4 September, against the national budget on Monday 12 October.
What the Construction Regulator Found
The Construction Industry Council (CIC) is the statutory body that registers contractors and construction projects in Eswatini. Its annual performance report for 2025/26, posted on its website on Friday 4 September, counts 558 registered projects worth E11.24 billion (about US$680 million).
That total is almost four times the E2.83 billion (about US$172 million) recorded a year earlier, a rise of 296.6%. The council says the jump was “largely driven by Foreign Works”, its label for projects run by contractors registered as foreign firms.
Foreign contractors handled only 25 projects, or 4.5% of the count, but 54.5% of the value. A year earlier they had registered just 8 projects worth E16.9 million (about US$1 million).
Local works grew too: the other 533 projects were worth E5.11 billion (about US$309 million), up about 81% from E2.82 billion (about US$171 million). Their share of the total, however, fell from more than 99% to 45%.
The foreign money is concentrated. Three foreign civil-engineering projects, the category for heavy works such as roads and dams, made up 87% of the foreign value.
Conversions use the rate on 12 October 2026, about 16.5 to the US dollar; the plural of lilangeni is emalangeni.
How the Figure Compares With the Budget
Neal Rijkenberg, the finance minister in the king’s cabinet, presented the 2026/27 budget to Parliament on Friday 27 February. It plans total spending of E36.92 billion (about US$2.24 billion), of which E7.78 billion (about US$471 million) goes to capital programmes.
Set against those numbers, the work of foreign contractors equals about 79% of the capital budget and roughly one-sixth of all planned spending. It is almost double the E3.24 billion (about US$196 million) the budget allocates to the Ministry of Health.
The comparison has limits, as the Times of Eswatini itself points out. The E6.13 billion (about US$371 million) covers works registered under foreign firms, “not government expenditure alone”, and dates from the previous financial year.
The Eswatini Observer, a local news site, called the E36.92 billion (about US$2.24 billion) budget record-breaking when it was tabled. It noted a rise from E32.6 billion (about US$1.97 billion) approved the year before.
Why Eswatini Worries About Relying on Foreign Firms
The council’s own reading is blunt. It says local firms “are being bypassed in strategic projects, largely due to capacity constraints”.
Foreign involvement, the report adds, “limits skills transfer, local industry development, and retention of economic value, creating long-term dependency risks”. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport, which handles roads and public buildings, owned about 89% of the value of government projects.
The Times of Eswatini reports that the Construction Industry Policy 2024–2030, a framework for the sector, proposes preferences and quotas for local firms. It also proposes local-hiring and skills-transfer rules for joint ventures, a Construction Industry Development Fund and public disclosure of contracts and winning bids.
Compliance is a further concern. Work by unregistered contractors rose to E382.7 million (about US$23 million), or 3.4% of the total, which the council says calls for stronger regulatory oversight.
The Big Projects Behind the Boom
The council’s report points to a cluster of large projects in water, roads and energy. It singles out the Mpakeni Dam, valued at E2.6 billion (about US$157 million), designed to boost irrigation and water security in the eastern lowveld.
Work on the first phase of the Eswatini Road Infrastructure Improvement Programme began during the year, on two main road corridors, the MR14 and MR21. The report also lists the 100-megawatt Edwaleni solar power station and a national electrification programme.
In his budget speech, Rijkenberg said private investment lifted the construction sector by 17.1% in 2025, according to preliminary estimates. The council’s report does not say which of these projects went to foreign contractors.
What It Means for US Readers
For American engineering, equipment and consulting firms, Eswatini’s construction market is small but growing fast, and most of the money goes to foreign contractors. If the proposed quotas and joint-venture rules take effect, foreign bidders, US companies included, would face new local-content demands.
Trade adds a second layer. The budget speech notes that the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the US law granting duty-free access to eligible African exports, lapsed in September 2025.
Rijkenberg said the lapse caused “investment uncertainty in beneficiary countries”. A renewal followed in February 2026, and in September 2026 a new US law extended the program to December 2028.
Because the lilangeni is pegged one-to-one to the rand, dollar returns in Eswatini move with South Africa’s currency.
The kingdom’s finances are already under scrutiny. The International Monetary Fund has flagged costly electricity losses, and the central bank recently raised its main interest rate to 7%.
What Is Not Known
The council’s report does not name the foreign contractors or their home countries. Nor does it say who financed the three civil-engineering projects that make up most of the foreign value.
It is unclear whether the Construction Industry Policy 2024–2030 has been adopted in full, or when any quotas would start. How the foreign work splits between state, development-lender and private money is also not public.
More: Africa news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much construction did foreign contractors do in Eswatini?
E6.13 billion (about US$371 million) in the 2025/26 financial year, across 25 registered projects. That was 54.5% of all registered construction value, according to the Construction Industry Council.
Why compare it with Eswatini’s capital budget?
The 2026/27 capital budget is E7.78 billion (about US$471 million), so the work of foreign contractors equals about 79% of it. The Times of Eswatini notes that the foreign figure is not government spending alone.
Who are the foreign contractors?
The regulator’s report does not name them or their home countries. It groups them by type of work, and three civil-engineering projects make up 87% of the foreign value.
Does this affect US companies?
It could. As the Times of Eswatini describes it, the Construction Industry Policy 2024–2030 proposes local quotas and local-hiring rules for joint ventures. It also seeks stronger regulation of foreign firms, US bidders included.
What is Eswatini’s currency worth?
The lilangeni is pegged one-to-one to the South African rand. On 12 October 2026, the rate was about 16.5 to the US dollar.
Sources: Times of Eswatini, 12 October 2026; Construction Industry Council, Annual Construction Industry Performance Report 2025/26, 4 September 2026; Ministry of Finance, Budget Speech 2026, 27 February 2026; Eswatini Observer, 28 February 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief