Eskom has secured more funding for its new Kusile power station through a R5.7-billion loan from the Export Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) of the United States, the parastatal said on Monday.
“We are pleased with the decision by the Ex-Im Bank board to approve financing which will help to build Eskom’s Kusile power station,” Eskom financial director Paul O’Flaherty said in a statement.
Eskom had already raised R31-billion in export credit agency-backed finance.
“Export credit agency finance is one of the sources Eskom is tapping as part of its R300-billion funding plan for the new build programme. More than three quarters of that funding has now been secured.”
Kusile, in Mpumalanga, is one of the two large new coal-fired power stations being built by Eskom. The other is Medupi.
The first unit of Kusile is due to come on line late in 2014 and the power station will have a total capacity of 4 800 megawatts.
Ex-Im Bank is an independent United States federal agency which provides financing for US exports of goods and services, Eskom said. — Sapa