Mbabane- An ambitious E256 million pharmaceutical manufacturing project involving AvaPharm, Milan Laboratories and the Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP) has failed to move beyond the signing of an agreement, with no physical development having taken place to date.
According to a reliable source with direct knowledge of the transaction, AvaPharm signed a deal valued at approximately E256 million with RSTP, which at the time was represented by its now suspended chief executive officer, Vumile Dlamini. Milan Laboratories was also party to the agreement.
The deal was intended to pave the way for the establishment of a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Eswatini, a project positioned as a strategic investment aimed at strengthening local medicine production, reducing reliance on imports and improving health system resilience.
However, despite the scale of the proposed investment, Independent News has established that no construction, site development or operational groundwork has taken place since the agreement was signed.
There has been no confirmation of land being secured, no regulatory approvals publicly disclosed, and no indication that procurement, construction or installation of manufacturing infrastructure has begun.
The proposed plant was expected to manufacture pharmaceutical products for local and regional markets, including essential medicines. It was also expected to create employment, support skills transfer and build local technical capacity in a sector critical to national health security.
Sources familiar with the agreement say the project involved AvaPharm as the lead investor, Milan Laboratories as the pharmaceutical and technical partner, and RSTP as the facilitating institution mandated to support science and technology driven investments.
RSTP’s involvement formed part of its broader mandate to attract high value industrial and innovation based projects into Eswatini. The AvaPharm deal was presented as aligning with national objectives to strengthen manufacturing and healthcare infrastructure.
Despite this positioning, the project has remained dormant since the signing of the agreement.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing projects are complex and capital intensive, requiring regulatory approvals, environmental compliance, quality assurance frameworks and long term investment commitments. While delays are not unusual, the absence of visible progress has raised questions about whether the project remains viable.
Meanwhile, in an effort to establish clarity on the status of the AvaPharm pharmaceutical manufacturing project, Independent News sent detailed questionnaires to AvaPharm director Mr Kareem Ashraf, Milan Laboratories representative Mr Prashat Ashant, and the Royal Science and Technology Park.
At the time of publication, no responses had been received.
The questionnaires sought to confirm whether AvaPharm entered into an agreement valued at approximately E256 million to establish a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Eswatini, and to clarify when the agreement was signed.
Independent News also asked whether any site had been identified or secured for the proposed plant and whether any regulatory approvals had been sought or obtained.
Further questions focused on whether AvaPharm remains committed to implementing the project and what factors may have contributed to the absence of progress since the agreement was concluded.Independent News also sought to establish what due diligence processes were undertaken prior to the signing of the agreement and whether any milestones or performance conditions were attached to the deal.
Questions directed to Milan Laboratories sought to clarify its involvement in the project, the scale of its intended investment, and whether it remains engaged in the Eswatini initiative.
Milan Laboratories was also asked how many pharmaceutical manufacturing plants it currently operates across Africa and whether it had committed any resources to the proposed Eswatini plant.
In a separate line of inquiry, Ashant was asked to respond to questions regarding Milan Laboratories’ role in the Remdesivir COVID-19 drug matter, including the circumstances under which the drug was sold to the Eswatini Government while still undergoing clinical trials.
Until such responses are provided, the AvaPharm pharmaceutical plant remains a signed agreement with no physical footprint, highlighting the gap that can exist between ambitious investment announcements and on-the-ground delivery.
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