Africa-Press – Eswatini. The House of Assembly is expected to extensively debate the issue of the Strategic Oil Reserve during an ordinary House sitting.
The sitting is expected to be in the afternoon of this coming Wednesday (May 14, 2025). According to the Order Paper for May 14, 2025, Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg is expected to table a loan bill talking about the Strategic Oil Reserve.
The Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (The Construction of the Strategic Oil Reserve Facility) Loan Bill No. 11 of 2025 is the loan bill that is expected to be tabled by the minister. The details of the loan will be heard during the debate. This is especially because there is uncertainty on the prices of the facility prices, with others saying it will be at E2.8 billion, while others say it will be at E5.2 billion.
His Majesty King Mswati III launched a 3D model of the Strategic Oil Reserve on April 23 at Lozitha Palace. Present during the event was Taiwan Special Envoy Dr Lin Chia-lung, who is also Taiwan’s Minister of Finance. He was in the country as a representative of Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te.
The project is set to take place in Phuzumoya, under Siphofaneni Constituency in the Lubombo Region. The project will be overseen by the Eswatini National Petroleum Company (ENPC), a parastatal which is under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy. It was reported by this publication in October last year that the ENPC has managed to raise an amount of E1 billion towards the establishment of the Strategic Oil Reserve.
That was during an event which was attended by legislators who are members of the portfolio committee of the Natural Resources Ministry. It was during this event where the issue of the price for the facility was brought to the fore and the two above-mentioned amounts were talked about.
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