Eswatini looks to S'pore companies to help develop $1.6b power plant

Eswatini, an African country with a population of just over one million, is looking to work with Singapore companies to help it develop a US$1.2 billion (S$1.66 billion) integrated power project.

The aim is to produce up to 300MW of electricity to meet domestic demand by 2025, its Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Senator Manqoba Khumalo, said yesterday.

At a media briefing, he said the country imports about 65 per cent of its energy requirements from South Africa via an agreement set to expire in 2025.

"The agreement lapses in 2025, and they (South Africa) do not have enough energy of their own, so we need to find a solution for about 200MW by 2025," he said.

Mr Khumalo added that the additional capacity of 100MW will factor in expanding requirements in the future as the country grows its economy.

He said the country, formerly known as Swaziland, would be looking at an integrated solution that could include fossil fuels and renewables.

Eswatini currently gets 35 per cent of its electricity from hydropower, Mr Khumalo said.

Officials led by the country's ruler, King Mswati III, are in Singapore until Saturday to showcase and promote investment opportunities available in Eswatini.

Yesterday, the delegation attended an event jointly organised by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and Enterprise Singapore to promote trade and investment collaboration between Singapore and Eswatini.

In a keynote address at the event, which was held at the SBF Centre in Shenton Way, King Mswati III lauded Singapore's development into a First World nation in spite of its humble beginnings.

The nation is a model for other emerging economies, he said.

He said that like Singapore, his country, while small, could serve as a launching pad for investors from not just the Republic, but also Asia. He added that companies can tap Eswatini to access the vast opportunities in the African region, highlighting the African Continental Free Trade Area.

"The Kingdom of Eswatini continues to position herself as a production hub in the region to take advantage of the ever-widening strategic markets for our goods in the trading bloc we are actively part of," said the King.

He also highlighted the investments made by Tolaram, a company with its headquarters in Singapore.

The family-owned conglomerate opened a state-of-the-art US$34 million noodle manufacturing facility in Eswatini last year and currently employs 220 people there.

Mr Haresh Aswani, managing director of Tolaram's business in Africa, said the company started looking at Eswatini in late 2018 as a potential site for its second instant noodle factory in partnership with multinational food manufacturer Kellogg.

Tolaram has expanded from a single retail shop in Malang, Indonesia, in 1948 to a diversified business that reaches more than one billion customers across Asia, Africa, Europe and South America.

It is Africa's largest consumer goods company, with leading brands in packaged food and personal and household care.

The chief executive of the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority, Mr Sibani Mngomezulu, said that the country would be looking to attract more investments such as those made by Tolaram. He added that the success of the partnership should serve as an example of the country's vast potential.