MBABANE – A new firm set for development and operational facility for a biomass pellet plant in Eswatini has been established.
This follows an approval by the Eswatini Competition Commission (ESCC), as part of its merger decisions for the quarter ended March 2026.
A biomass pellet plant converts agricultural and forestry residues (sawdust, straw, wood chips) into high-efficiency, renewable fuel pellets, typically through crushing, drying, pelletising, cooling and packing.
The approval relates to a transaction involving the acquisition of a controlling interest in Emerald Renewables Proprietary by Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund II (PRIF II), in terms of Regulation 31(1) of the Competition Commission Regulation Notice of 2010.
PRIF II, the acquiring firm, is a company registered and incorporated in accordance with the laws of South Africa. It was established to make equity investments in infrastructure companies and projects headquartered in, or whose operations are primarily conducted within Africa.
The target firm, Emerald Renewables Proprietary, is a private limited liability company incorporated in the Kingdom of Eswatini and is wholly owned and controlled by Swazi Biofuel Proprietary Limited.
Emerald is a newly established entity that will serve as a development and operational facility for a biomass pellet plant in the country.
The planned facility will produce refined biomass in the form of white pellets for export and electricity generation, positioning Eswatini within the growing global renewable energy value chain.
In its assessment, the commission determined that the relevant market is the manufacturing and supply of white biomass pellets from raw materials within Eswatini.
The ESCC found that there are no horizontal overlaps between the activities of the merging parties, and that the transaction does not create any vertical integration concerns in the identified market.
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Eswatini Competition Commission Advocacy and Communications Manager Manqoba Mabuza. (File pic)