IBRD Loan: US$3,750 million
Terms: Maturity = 28.5 years; Grace = 7 years
Project ID: P116410
Project Description: This project will help South Africa achieve a reliable electricity supply while also financing some of the biggest solar and wind power plants in the developing world. The loan – the Bank’s first major lending engagement with South Africa since the fall of apartheid 16 years ago – aims to benefit the poor directly, through jobs created as the economy bounces back from the global financial crisis and through additional power capacity to expand access to electricity. The loan is provided to South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, and was brought about by unique circumstances including South Africa’s energy crisis of 2007 and early 2008, and the global financial crisis that exposed the country’s vulnerability to an energy shock and severe economic consequences.
