By King’s Office Correspondents
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – About 250 kilometres of untarred roads in the country’s four regions are about to receive Probase tarring that will cost about E1.6 billion.
This was the assurance given to His Majesty the King when the company, together with officials from Exim Bank, paid a courtesy call on the Head of State this afternoon.
The company, Probase Manufacturing, which has already undertaken 211km of probase tarring in the country and now has a product manufacturing factory at Sidvokodvo employing about 40 emaSwati, was led by its Managing Director, Seow Chen Soon, while Exim Bank was led by its Chief Business Officer Fazah Mustapa.
Soon explained that an additional 60 emaSwati have been hired for the maintenance of the roads over an agreed 15-year period, while about 2 000 locals gain temporary employment during construction.
During the courtesy call, His Majesty expressed his appreciation to Probase Manufacturing for the impact their project has had in communities across the country. He said many lives had been changed and saved as better road facilities gave access to better livelihoods and easier access to essential facilities like hospitals and clinics, which were difficult during the rainy seasons.
He commended Exim Bank for partnering with the company on this project and urged the bank to expand its finance into other projects in the country, such as the development of industrial parks in the four regions of the kingdom that could help drastically reduce unemployment. The King mentioned that one country has already pledged to invest E6 billion in Eswatini to develop an industrial park, which is a good indication of the confidence in the opportunities that exist in Eswatini.
Prior to the behind-closed-doors meeting, Soon explained to the media that their partnership with Exim Bank for the second phase has been concluded and an additional US$100 million loan (About E1.6 billion) is to be made available for the project.
He said it cost the same amount of money for the first phase.
“This was an initiative of His Majesty when we met 15 years ago and we are happy to see it making a difference in the lives of emaSwati,” said Soon, as he explained that the upcoming roads will be upgraded probably equitably in the four regions of the kingdom.
He highlighted that the loans issued by Exim Bank have the lowest interest when compared to other financial entities involved in development finance and attributed the low interest to the negotiation skills of the King, who engaged the bank on these while talks were ongoing.
Soon also highlighted technology transfer and skills.
“The good thing about this project is that the employees now know how to properly use the technology to construct the roads and carry out the maintenance. All the locals are experts now. We can even export them to Namibia, South Africa or other countries to do this project,” he said.
Present during the courtesy call were, among others, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Pholile Shakantu, Minister for Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo, High Commissioner to Malaysia Menzi Dlamini, Emazinyane and Prince Gcina.
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