Malusi Gigaba, South African Finance Minister met with representatives of the World Bank to discuss issues relating to Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.
Gigaba met with the bank discuss funding options available to the state-owned power utility. One of the topics at the meeting was nuclear energy, one person said. South African Airways was also discussed at the meeting, said one of the people.
Eskom last year began a process to add 9,600 megawatts of nuclear power capacity beyond its single existing plant by issuing a request for information from vendors. They received 38 responses to the notice, Kelvin Kemm, chairman of the South African Nuclear Energy Corp., told lawmakers in Cape Town.
South Africa’s nuclear investment plans have become a talking point for critics of President Jacob Zuma’s policies. The affordability of the program was also discussed between Zuma and former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and the procurement process stalled in April after a provincial court ruled that the government didn’t follow the correct procedure in pursuing the nuclear program.
Mayihlome Tshwete, Gigaba’s spokesman, said the meeting between the World Bank and the Treasury was about the financing of the power utility’s Medupi project.
The World Bank has previously supported energy projects through Eskom. However, an inspection panel from the organization in 2012 found instances of non-compliance in its award of a $3.75 billion loan to the utility for construction of the Medupi coal-fired power plant. The impacts and risks for other local water users weren’t properly considered and the project would place a strain on water resources in an area already suffering from scarcity, it said at the time.