Power company Eskom said on Thursday it has received a loan of R15-billion ($2,2-billion) from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) to fund new power projects.
The five-year loan will help fund the parastatal utility’s R385-billion, 12 300MW expansion programme, designed to ease power shortages that saw rolling power cuts hit the country in 2008, the company said.
“Our new build programme is essential to provide the security of supply that South Africa needs if it is to grow its economy and improve the quality of life for all of its people,” chief executive Brian Dames said in a statement.
“The loan is a vote of confidence by the DBSA in Eskom. It will help us to provide South Africa with the power stations and transmission infrastructure it needs while ensuring that Eskom remains financially sustainable.”
Eskom said the loan would help build two new coal-fired power stations and a pumped-storage hydroelectric dam.
The World Bank in April approved a R28-billion loan for Eskom’s expansion programme, drawing criticism from environmental groups who said new construction should focus on green energy rather than coal. — AFP