Mbabane– The Eswatini Civil Aviation Authority (ESWACAA) has unveiled a 10-year aviation investment strategy worth more than E12 billion, with plans to transform King Mswati III International Airport (KMIII IA) into a regional aviation, logistics and commercial hub while creating 20 000 job opportunities.
The strategy was presented by ESWACAA Business Development Manager Richard Dlamini during the KMIII IA Business Forum and Breakfast Briefing held at Business Eswatini at Emafini on October 8, 2026.
Dlamini said the strategy seeks to attract more than E12 billion in investment over 10 years, positioning KMIII IA as a major catalyst for economic growth, investment, trade and job creation.
The strategy identifies investment opportunities in the Airport City, Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Air Cargo Development Programme, with ESWACAA seeking to bring the private sector into the airport’s expansion.
The proposed development is aimed at giving KMIII IA a bigger role in aviation, logistics and commercial activity, while opening opportunities for businesses to access wider regional and international markets.
The forum brought together investors, business leaders and other stakeholders to discuss how the airport can become a stronger driver of economic development.
UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Nessie Golakai said the airport’s air cargo ambitions would also depend on strengthening Eswatini’s ability to produce goods locally.
She revealed that the UniPod, supported by UNDP and the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, would help connect innovation and local production with KMIII IA’s ambitions to become a more important economic and trade hub.
“Cargo begins in the factory, on the farm, in the warehouse and in the laboratory,” Golakai said.
She said increasing cargo volumes through KMIII IA would require businesses to increase production, develop better products and overcome technical challenges affecting production.
Golakai said the UniPod would serve as a shared innovation and product-development facility for businesses, students, engineers, artisans and other innovators.
The facility is expected to provide specialised equipment and technical expertise for product design, prototyping, testing and small initial production runs.
She said this could assist businesses that have developed product ideas, want to manufacture imported components locally or are facing technical problems affecting their production.
Golakai said UNDP was particularly interested in identifying products and components that could be prototyped through the UniPod and eventually manufactured by local businesses.
She said the organisation would also examine which production inputs could move efficiently through KMIII IA, which local products could be suitable for air exports and whether products from different producers could be aggregated to make air cargo services commercially viable.
However, Golakai cautioned against assuming that every imported product should immediately be manufactured locally or that every product was suitable for air transport.
“The economics, volumes, quality requirements, timing and reliability must all make sense,” she said.
The ESWACAA strategy therefore places KMIII IA at the centre of a broader economic vision linking aviation, logistics, manufacturing, agriculture, innovation and commerce.
With more than E12 billion in targeted investment over 10 years and 20,000 job opportunities, ESWACAA is seeking to reposition KMIII IA from primarily an airport facility into a major economic platform for Eswatini.
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