Pretoria – Eskom has secured a R5.7 billion loan with the Export Import Bank of the United States to go towards the Kusile power station, it 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. This is a statement of confidence by the US agency in Eskom, and in South Africa and an acknowledgement of the criticality of clean coal in Eskom’s fleet,” said the parastatal’s Finance Director Paul O’Flaherty.
The Ex-Im Bank financing is to support Eskom’s purchase for its Kusile power station project, of engineering and construction management services from Black & Veatch International, a specialised project management and engineering firm which is based in Overland Park, Kansas.
Eskom said Black & Veatch will retain highly-skilled senior engineers and support staff in the US to work on the Kusile project over the next five years.
The details of the loan, which still have to be negotiated, will add to the R31 billion in export credit agency backed finance which the parastatal has already raised.
Ex-Im Bank is an independent US federal agency, which provides financing for US exports of goods and services.
Kusile, near Emalahleni in Mpumalanga, is the second of the two large new coal-fired power stations, which Eskom is building to meet the country’s electricity needs.
The first, Kusile is due to come on line late in 2014 and is expected to have a total capacity of 4 800 MW. – BuaNews
