MBABANE – Foreign contractors took 55 per cent of Eswatini’s registered construction project value in 2025/26, with the CIC warning this could weaken local economic benefits.
According to the Construction Industry Council (CIC), foreign contractors handled projects worth E6.13 billion during the year, compared with just E16.9 million in 2024/25.
The sharp increase came as the total value of registered construction projects rose from E2.83 billion to E11.24 billion.
The CIC said, however, that the growth was driven mainly by a few large, capital-intensive projects rather than broad growth across the industry.
It said foreign contractors were increasingly involved in high-value and technically complex projects because local firms lacked the capacity to compete in these areas.
“Local firms are unable to fully participate in high-value segments,” the CIC said, warning that the gap could widen as construction becomes more technically demanding.
The council said the growing use of foreign contractors could limit skills transfer, local industry development and the amount of economic value retained in Eswatini.
The figures show that foreign works accounted for E6.13 billion of the E11.24 billion registered project value, leaving E5.11 billion for local and other works.
Despite this, local contractors continued to account for most registered projects. Foreign firms were involved in fewer projects, but these were substantially larger.
The CIC said the concentration of growth in large projects was a structural challenge because the rise in project value was not matched by a similar increase in the number of projects.
This limited opportunities for smaller contractors and left some firms underutilised.
The report identified skills shortages, a weak contractor base and limited progression from entry-level to skilled and supervisory positions as further constraints.
“While workforce participation is relatively high, there is limited progression into skilled and supervisory positions,” the CIC said.
The construction boom was also heavily dependent on government investment. Government and parastatal projects accounted for 80.2 per cent of registered project value in 2025/26, up from 50.7 per cent the previous year.
Parastatal projects alone accounted for 59.8 per cent, while government projects contributed 20.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, the private commercial sector’s share fell from 47.2 per cent to 19.1 per cent, although its project value increased in absolute terms.
The CIC said this showed that construction growth was increasingly being driven by State-funded infrastructure, with a smaller relative contribution from the private sector.
Delayed payments were identified as the industry’s biggest operational problem, affecting 43 per cent of contractors surveyed.
The CIC said unpaid receivables were putting contractors under severe cash-flow pressure. It attributed delays to insufficient funding for public projects and late submission of payment certificates on private projects.
The council said the short-term outlook remained positive, supported by major energy, water and transport projects.
However, it warned that growth could slow once existing mega-projects are completed unless they are replaced by new projects.
