Quarry stone production up 158.8% as construction booms

MBABANE – A surge in construction activity across Eswatini drove quarry stone production up by a remarkable 158.8 per cent during the first quarter of 2026.

This provided a major boost to the country’s mining and quarrying industry and contributing to stronger economic growth.

The sharp increase in quarry stone production is highlighted in the Central Bank of Eswatini’s June 2026 Quarterly Review, which shows that the construction industry expanded by 33.3 per cent year-on-year during the quarter, accelerating significantly from the 11.8 per cent growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The performance points to the growing demand for construction materials as major public and private infrastructure developments continue to generate activity across the economy.

Among the major construction activities under way in the country are the construction of the Central Bank of Eswatini headquarters, the Mpakeni Dam under the Mkhondvo-Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Programme and the Phuzumoya Strategic Oil Reserve, alongside other infrastructure and property developments.

The Central Bank said the stronger construction activity also benefitted manufacturing subsectors producing materials required by the building industry.

Manufacturing expanded by 12.4 per cent year-on-year during the first quarter, reversing a 1.2 per cent contraction recorded in the preceding quarter.

The CBE attributed the improvement mainly to stronger demand and increased activity in key manufacturing subsectors.

It specifically noted that the manufacturing of non-metal mineral products and manufacture of metal products benefitted from sustained construction activity.

The construction industry itself accelerated sharply, growing 33.3 per cent in the first quarter compared with 11.8 per cent in the final quarter of 2025.

The performance of quarrying provides an even clearer indication of this relationship.

The mining and quarrying subsector expanded by 8.5 per cent during the quarter, compared with 6.0 per cent in the preceding quarter. Within the subsector, quarry stone production increased by 158.8 per cent, with the Central Bank directly attributing the surge to heightened construction activity.

However, the overall mining performance was mixed.

Coal production declined by 6.7 per cent as heavy rainfall disrupted mining operations, while gold production increased by a more modest 3.0 per cent.

As a result, the dramatic increase in quarry stone production was partly offset by weaker coal output.