MBABANE – Eswatini’s construction sector recorded a sharp expansion in 2025/26, with registered project value increasing 296.6 per cent to E11.24 billion, driven by major infrastructure investments.
The performance marks a significant acceleration in construction activity, with the sector emerging as an important contributor to economic growth during the second half of 2025.
According to the Eswatini Construction Industry Performance Report 2025/26, total registered project value increased from E2.83 billion in 2024/25 to E11.24 billion during the financial year under review.
The Construction Industry Council (CIC) attributed the expansion to a shift from a previously slow project pipeline towards active implementation, as several large-scale infrastructure developments moved into construction at the same time.
The report describes the growth as a period of strong cyclical expansion, with construction activity supported by a concentrated pipeline of high-value investments.
Despite the substantial increase in activity, the structure of the industry remained heavily concentrated in large projects, with Foreign Works accounting for 54.5 per cent of the total registered project value.
Foreign Works increased dramatically from E16.92 million in 2024/25 to E6.13 billion in 2025/26, representing a year-on-year increase of 36 120 per cent.
The CIC report said this indicated a significant concentration of high-value projects undertaken by foreign contractors.
The scale of foreign participation is further highlighted by the sector’s overall distribution, with foreign works accounting for 55 per cent of total project value, compared with 45 per cent for local and other works.
This compares with only 0.6 percent for foreign works in the previous reporting period, when local and other works accounted for 99.4 per cent of total project value.
The report notes that foreign contractors are particularly prominent in high-value and technically complex projects, reflecting capacity gaps within the domestic construction industry. Civil construction also remained a major component of the market.
General Civil Works accounted for 26.5 per cent of total project value, rising from E1.83 billion in 2024/25 to E2.98 billion in 2025/26, an increase of 63.2 per cent.
General Building Works contributed 10.3 per cent, increasing from E799.21 million to E1.16 billion, representing growth of 44.6 per cent.
The expansion was also strongly associated with public-sector investment.
Parastatal projects accounted for 59.8 per cent of registered project value in 2025/26, up from 40.9 per cent in the previous year.
Government projects contributed another 20.4 per cent, compared with 9.8 per cent previously.
Combined, government and parastatal projects accounted for 80.2 per cent of total registered project value, compared with 50.7 per cent in 2024/25. Private commercial projects increased in absolute value from E1.34 billion to E2.15 billion, but their share of the overall market fell from 47.2 per cent to 19.1 per cent because public-sector investment grew at a much faster pace.
Private residential construction recorded a contraction, with project value declining by 52 per cent from E48.59 million to E23.15 million and accounting for only 0.2 per cent of total project value.
Within government projects, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport accounted for approximately 89 per cent of the E2.28 billion in government-owned project value recorded among the leading government project owners.
This concentration reinforces the report’s finding that construction activity remains heavily dependent on a relatively small number of public institutions and funding streams.
The construction boom was also accompanied by a sharp increase in specialised construction activity.
The value of specialised works rose by 398.8 per cent, from E48.77 million in 2024/25 to E243.30 million in 2025/26.
Building Specialist Works accounted for 42.7 per cent of specialised works value, followed by Civil Specialist Works at 27.9 per cent and Mechanical Specialist Works at 21.8 per cent. Civil Specialist Works increased by 475.2 per cent, while Mechanical Specialist Works grew by 382.8 per cent. Electrical Specialist Works also increased by 70.4 per cent in value.
The number of specialised projects increased from 52 to 62, or 72.2 per cent. However, the much larger increase in project value compared with project numbers suggests that the sector’s expansion was driven mainly by larger and more capital-intensive projects rather than a broad increase in the number of projects.
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