Eskom
Billions of rand in investments are set to flow into the Richards Bay region following the announcement that a liquefied natural gas facility will be constructed in the area. It is estimated that more than R80 billion could be invested in the coming years. Two energy projects are earmarked for the area.
Plans to build a liquefied natural gas facility were unveiled on Friday, and there are also plans to build a power plant that will work in tandem with the LNG facility. The estimated R80 billion will be for the plant alone. This follows the signing of a Heads of Agreement (HOA) between Eskom and Zululand Energy Terminal (ZET), establishing the framework for a long-term strategic partnership to support South Africa’s gas-to-power programme. Eskom will be the anchor customer.
ZET is a joint venture between Vopak Terminal Durban, owned by Royal Vopak (a company with its head office in the Netherlands), and Reatile Group Proprietary Limited, a South African company, and Transnet Pipelines (a division of Transnet SOC Ltd). It was awarded a concession by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) to develop, construct, operate, and maintain the LNG terminal.
The proposed project will provide open access to liquefied natural gas (LNG) import, storage, and regasification infrastructure and, later, a plant that will be designed by Eskom. The project will be developed through a Private Sector Participation (PSP) model, leveraging strategic partners, project finance, and long-term power off-take arrangements.
