A R39-billion power station to help ease South Africa’s energy demand is expected to be built in Limpopo near Musina and could employ 19,000 people.
Premier Stan Mathabatha said that a deal was clinched during his recent two-week trip to China.
The planned power station will be the fifth operating from Limpopo to supply electricity to new industry planned for Limpopo.
Mathabatha said the Limpopo Economic Development Agency (Leda), a provincial state entity, and Chinese corporation Hong Kong Mining Exchange Company, had entered into the deal.
Leda MD Lesley Masia said the new power station would supply electricity to plants that processed mineral resources into finished metal products. There had been no discussions for it to supply electricity to Eskom for the national grid.
“We will use coal to generate electricity but the deployment of modern technology will result in less carbon emission.”
Mathabatha said the Chinese mission also attracted a separate R2-bn deal from the Jidong Development Group to augment the R1.6-bn Mamba cement manufacturing project under way in Thabazimbi.
Jidong is the majority shareholder in the Mamba cement project.
Other equity holders include the China Africa Development Fund and two South African firms, Women Investment Portfolio Holdings Limited (Wiphold) and Continental Cement (Conticem).
“On that project alone, 100 artisans will be sent to China for training. We will not be importing labour from China, only scarce skills,” said Mathabatha.
By Moloko Moloto
http://www.iol.co.za/business/companies/limpopo-to-get-new-r39bn-power-plant-1.1778938#.VGQuRTMcRes
