MBABANE – South African construction giant Stefanutti Stocks (Pty) Ltd, in joint venture with WBHO Construction (Pty) Ltd, has emerged victorious in a fiercely contested bidding process for a multi-billion-emalangeni road infrastructure project in Eswatini, beating competitors from China, Egypt, Botswana and South Africa to secure a contract worth E2.67 billion.
The award was announced by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport through a contract award notice published under the Eswatini Roads Infrastructure Improvement Programme (ERIIP) – Phase 1, which is financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
According to the notice, the winning consortium was awarded the contract at a price of E2,669,159,318.99 after emerging as the lowest evaluated bidder among five companies that submitted bids for the project.
The tender involves the upgrading of the Siphofaneni-Sithobela-Maloma-Nsoko (MR14) and Maloma-Siphambanweni (MR21) roads, together with associated environmental and social management works.
The contract is one of the largest road construction awards in recent years and is expected to significantly improve transport connectivity in the eastern and southern parts of the country.
Tender documents show that the Stefanutti Stocks-WBHO joint venture submitted a bid price of E2,669,143,382.28, which was later evaluated at E2,669,159,318.99 and accepted.
The consortium outperformed four other international bidders, including Chinese and Egyptian construction firms.
Among the unsuccessful bidders was Zhengtai Group Co. Ltd of China, which submitted the lowest read-out bid of E2,430,764,942.62. However, the company was rejected during the preliminary examination stage after it failed to meet bid requirements.
The tender notice stated that the bidder was found not to be substantially responsive in accordance with the bidding requirements because both its bid validity and bid security validity had expired and were not extended.
Another Chinese-linked consortium, Unik Construction Engineering (Pty) Ltd JV Zhongheng Construction Group, with Botswana and Chinese participation, submitted a bid of E3,150,508,933.46. It was also rejected for failing to satisfy preliminary examination requirements after its bid validity and bid security validity expired without extension.
Egyptian construction firm The Arab Contractors submitted a bid worth E3,268,319,877.80, making it the highest-priced bid among those evaluated. While the company progressed further in the process, it was ultimately rejected because it was not the lowest evaluated bidder.
A South African consortium comprising Raubex Construction (Pty) Ltd JV Raubex KZN (Pty) Ltd JV Inyatsi Construction also failed to secure the contract despite submitting a bid of E2,798,030,434.23. The bid was rejected after the consortium failed to meet preliminary examination requirements related to bid security validity.
The award follows a procurement process that began with the preparation and approval of tender documents by the African Development Bank. According to the notice, the bank received the draft tender document on February 21, 2025, and approved it on April 10, 2025.
Tender invitations were issued on June 6, 2025, with bids closing and opening on August 22, 2025. The tender evaluation report was received by the bank on December 12, 2025, and approval of the evaluation was granted on March 11, 2026.
The successful contractor is expected to commence work on July 20, 2026.
Under the contract, the consortium will undertake the construction of approximately 105.8 kilometres of single carriageway road, each lane measuring 3.65 metres wide with two-metre paved shoulders and gravel shoulders.
The scope of works also includes the construction of four major bridges over rivers, one road underbridge, drainage structures, road furniture, road safety features, utility provisions and implementation of environmental and social management measures.
The construction phase is expected to run for 36 months, followed by a 12-month defects notification period.
Government has previously identified the upgrading of the MR14 and MR21 corridors as a strategic investment aimed at improving mobility, reducing transport costs and supporting economic activity in agricultural and industrial areas served by the routes.
With the E2.67 billion award now confirmed, attention will shift to the implementation phase as one of the country’s largest road infrastructure projects gets underway under African Development Bank financing.
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