Eswatini - Mkhondvo-Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Program, Phase I, Part B (MNWAP-1B)

The Mkhondvo – Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Program (MNWAP) is, thus, a strategic development aimed at the attainment of the country’s economic development goals by empowering subsistence farmers on Swazi Nation Land (SNL) to convert into commercial irrigated agriculture through the provision of water infrastructure and capacity building. MNWAP will be implemented over three phases, where the first part of Phase I (MNWAP-1A) was approved for financing by the Bank in December 2021 and the second part of Phase I (MNWAP-1B) reported here. The Program will help reduce the impact of climate change as well as job creation leading to economic development. Phase 1 (part A & B) of the project entails the construction of the Mpakeni Dam (approved in 2021) and the downstream development of 4,600 hectares of cotton that will be processed for a vertically integrated textile industry (raw cotton to garments and oil). The total MNWAP-1B project cost is ZAR3,949.5 million.