[South Africa] DBSA and NDB partner to facilitate energy sector development
The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and New Development Bank (NDB) have signed a loan agreement for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction and Energy Sector Development Project.
Under the agreement, the NDB will provide a loan without a sovereign guarantee to the DBSA to an amount of up to USD 300 million.
The loan agreement was signed by Mr. Xian Zhu, NDB VP & COO and Mr. Patrick Dlamini, DBSA CEO during the 4th Annual Meeting of the New Development Bank in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction and Energy Sector Development Project is designed to support renewable energy projects in South Africa and help the economy to shift to a more sustainable energy path through structural transformation of the energy sector with emerging renewable technologies.
The objective of the Project is to facilitate investments in renewable energy that will contribute to the power generation mix and reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in South Africa, in line with the South African Government’s Integrated Resource Plan 2010 and its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions as articulated in the National Development Plan 2030.
The loan will be in the form of a two-step loan of up to USD 300 million to DBSA, which in turn will be on-lent to the DBSA’s identified subprojects, within particularly the wind, solar, and biomass energy sectors.
The project will bring significant developmental impacts through the subprojects, particularly related to environmental and social benefits from the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, increase in generation capacity from renewable energy sources, and increase in the efficiency of the energy sector in South Africa.
The project is also expected to contribute to unlocking private sector investment, and increasing the availability of long-term funds for projects in the energy sector in the country.