The “Eswatini New Green City Master Plan” is on track. The initiative, which will enable feasibility studies to be carried out and the stages of implementation to be planned, has just received $400,000 from the African Development Bank (AfDB). The funding, granted via its Urban and Municipal Development Fund (UMDF), is earmarked for the rapidly growing southern municipality of Shiselweni.
“A new, well-planned eco-city must be able to offer highly qualified services to the population, stimulate economic diversification, create sustainable jobs and reduce poverty in the region, while preserving the environment. The Fund will contribute to the elaboration of a vision and a development strategy that promote the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”, says the AfDB.
For resilient cities
The funds, which will be used with the technical support of the Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Company (ESWADE), should initially enable the pilot phase of an irrigation and green space development project to be carried out. According to the local authorities, the aim is to make the most of natural resources and spaces in an urban environment. At least 100,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created as a result of the master plan.
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In this southern African country, landlocked between Mozambique and South Africa, most of the country’s 1.2 million inhabitants are concentrated in cities, which presents challenges in terms of health, transport and water. This is why the former British protectorate led by monarch Mswati III has turned to the AfDB in recent years. In 2020, for example, the financial institution based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, allocated $1.6 million to the Swatzerland government for the construction of the Mahamba Gorge, Ethemba and Mpakeni dams as part of the Mkondvo-Ngwavuma Water Resources Augmentation Programme (MNWAP).
Benoit-Ivan Wansi