AfDB loans SAfrica's Eskom $2.8 bln for Medupi plant

26 November 2009 @ 11:27 am EDT

The African Development Bank (AfDB) said on Thursday it had loaned South African state owned utility Eskom 1.86 billion euros ($2.81 billion) to finance the construction of the Medupi power project.


AfDB loans SAfrica's Eskom $2.8 bln for Medupi plant
African Development Bank President Donald Kaberuka speaks at his news conference during the spring IMF-World Bank meeting at the IMF headquarters in Washington April 26, 2009.
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The bank said the 4,800 megawatt Medupi power plant -- Eskom's first new base-load power plant in more than two decades -- would significantly boost the energy capacity of South Africa and the southern African region.

"South Africa's energy problem has been a major impediment to Africa's leading economy. This operation should be seen in the context of the bank's ongoing efforts to help Africa bridge the infrastructure gap," AfDB president Donald Kaberuka said. Medupi is in South Africa's northern Limpopo Province, and is expected to be commissioned by February 2012.

(Reporting by James Macharia)

Copyright 2009 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

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