Matsapha is a town in central

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

. The Matsapha urban boundary is defined in the Urban Government Act of 1969, as amended in 2012, and covers an area of approximately . Matsapha was established as an industrial park in 1965 and was officially gazetted as an urban area in 1969. Matsapha is located in the Upper Middleveld of Eswatini in the

Manzini Manzini may refer to: *Manzini, Eswatini, a town in the Manzini Region of Eswatini *Manzini Region, a region of Eswatini *Manzini (surname), an Italian surname See also *Roman Catholic Diocese of Manzini The Diocese of Manzini ( la, Manzinien(si ...

region, which is in the centre of the country. Matsapha is from the city of

, the country's commercial capital, and from

Mbabane Mbabane (; ss, ÉMbábáne, ) is a city in Eswatini (previously called Swaziland), and is one of the two capitals (along with Lobamba), serving as the executive capital. With an estimated population of 94,874 (2010), it is located on the Mbaba ...

, the administrative capital of the country. It is well located as it is on Eswatini's main east–west axis between

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, from the junction of the

Lavumisa Lavumisa is a town located in the Shiselweni district of southern Eswatini. It is a border crossing point to the neighbouring town of Golela in South Africa. MR8 road, Highway MR8 and the railway cross here. Lavumisa recorded a temperature of , ...

road that leads to

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

and

KwaZulu Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locat ...

. It lies at an altitude of above sea level.

Transport

Matsapha is served by a railway station on the

Goba railway Goba railway, also called Swaziland-Maputo railway and Matsapha-Maputo railway, is a railway that connects the city of Maputo, Mozambique, to the city from Matsapha, in Eswatini. It is 466.8 km long, in a 1067 mm gauge.Siphofaneni Siphofaneni is a town in the Lubombo Region of central Eswatini (Swaziland), 45 kilometres from Manzini and 20 kilometres from Big Bend, a major sugarcane-producing town on the main highway leading to Durban. It has a tropical climate, very hot dur ...

to the east. Matsapha is also home to the Matsapha International Airport.

Bethany

Bethany is a neighbourhood a few kilometres to the west of Matsapha. A memorial to Swazi soldiers who served in World War II was constructed near the

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

there. The memorial records the names of 53 Swazi soldiers who died after returning to their home country, as well as those of 24 Swazi soldiers who died in Egypt. All Swazi soldiers not mentioned by name elsewhere are commemorated on the memorial's plaque, written in

Siswati The Swazi or siSwati language is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Eswatini and South Africa by the Swati people. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 2.4 million. The language is taught in Eswatini and so ...

References

External links

Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority

Matsapha Municipal Council
Populated places in Eswatini {{Eswatini-geo-stub