CONSTRUCTION STRIKE IT RICH IN RAIL LINK

 MBABANE – The building and construction industry will be the biggest winners in the 146km Lothair to Sidvokodvo rail line.

According to the Eswatini Environmental Authority’s Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIA), the annual employment effects during the construction period were estimated by using the assumed cash flows adjusted for imports.

Retention of labour in subsequent years was also incorporated.
The report pointed out that as labour demand increases with increased capital expenditure; it is assumed that 80 per cent of the previous year’s labour would be retained.

Demand

It was explained that employment created during a period is the difference between the total demand for labour and the retained labour from the previous period.
It was stated that more than 40 000 jobs could be created across all three regions during the construction phase of the project.

“This is not a reflection of permanent employment changes for the permanent residents but merely reflects the increases employment needed for the rail component construction located in each region,” reads the report in part. 

It has been previously reported that the project will be carried out jointly by Eswatini Railway and South Africa’s Transnet Freight Rail-a subsidiary of Transnet.

The time frame for the main construction of the line was reportedly planned to start in 2019 and be completed in 2023. 

Works

However, it should be mentioned that preliminary works of the project which include acquisition of land servitude, exhumation and reburial of graves and planning to resettle the affected households, had already started.

About 21 000 Swazis stand to benefit when using the country’s dependency ratio of 1:7 if the Swaziland Census of 2007 statistics is anything to go by. This means a working individual supports a minimum of seven people in the country.

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