By Sikhulile Dlamini
MBABANE – The Ministry of Public Works and Transport has announced that there would be an increase in truck traffic for the next two months along the Mpaka-Mhlumeni road.
According to the statement, the trucks will be ferrying Iron Ore from Mpaka Mozambique through Mhlumeni Border Post. This comes after the re-establishment of the Ngwenya Iron Ore Mine, where the product is extracted and treated by Mwelase Company Limited.
It further states that the anticipated volume of trucks will be at least fifty trucks per day which will be routed to Mhlumeni Border Post. The exportation of Iron Ore will be conducted in two phases, the first phase will be freighted at the Mpaka Iron Ore Depot and this is projected to be a two months project that will set the precedence for the second phase, to be conducted at the Ngwenya Iron Ore mine.
The Ministry has taken deliberate actions to ensure the safety of all motorists travelling along the Mpaka–Mhlumeni route which includes an in-depth road assessment which will inform the weight load to be carried by each truck. There has also been establishment of safety points that will ensure that every truck is loaded with the appropriate weight and trucks involved in this project are certified and each truck shall be furnished with a certificate of load obtained at a weight station certified by the ministry.
Also, the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) has been engaged and capacitated to ensure maximum supervision of this route and to respond promptly to any accidents that may occur within the road networks.
Furthermore, a strategic engagement has been made between Mwelase Company Limited and the Eswatini National Road Safety Council to ensure continuous road safety awareness raising and driver behaviour assessments. This will ensure that all drivers involved are vigilant and adhere to road safety best practices.
The Ministry is aware of all road safety concerns that may arise within the period of this project and in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders will ensure that all concerns are addressed.
