Despite being entirely land-locked, King Mswati III, who rules as an absolute monarch, has announced a plan to build a $3bn sea port. This will be achieved through the construction of a 26km canal across Mozambique to the Indian Ocean town of Mlawula. There, the port, which will be equipped with four berths, will be built on a proposed 20ha site.
The project appears to have a financial backer: Moses Motsa, a highly influential, but controversial millionaire from Swaziland.
Indeed, the controversial nature of the sea port is also mirrored by a second project, which will see the construction of a $250m international airport; the existing airport generates traffic of just 150 daily passengers.
It is hoped that by implementing both projects Swaziland can become a ‘first world’ country by 2022. Currently, 70% of its 1.3m habitants live on less than $2 a day.