afrol News, 22 May - The South African utility company, Eskom has signed a R6.1 billion (about 530 million euros) loan to fund part of its Medupi project.

The agreement was signed with seven European banks, that include the HypoVereinsbank, BNP Paribas, CALYON Cr,dit Agricole CIB, Commerzbank, KfW IPEX-Bank, Natixis and BHF-BANK, the state news agency reported today.

Eskom said the loan, which will be used to fund the outside components of the project, being the boiler component, will payable over a period of 12 years.

The Medupi power station, which will be the first major non-coal, non-nuclear power generator in South Africa, is expected to start feeding power into the national grid by 2012, with the final completion of the project scheduled for 2015.

Eskom's Chief Executive Officer, Jacob Maroga, was quoted in the state news agency saying, "Our debt capital raising activities are an integral part of financing Eskom's capital expansion programme and will complement other sources of funding such as the recent government support," further adding that it was the company's fundamental responsibility to secure the natoinal energy needs for the present and the future.

The load is also said to be forming part of an earlier agreement, in September 2008, signed by Eskom with the KfW IPEX-Bank. To date, the combined financing, covered by Germany's official Export Credit Agency, is calculated at 780 million Euros (about R9 billion).

By staff writer

© afrol News

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