The German development bank KfW has concluded a €500m (US$570m) public policy loan to support South Africa's Just Energy Transition programme. It will more specifically support structural reforms to enhance the efficiency, resilience, and sustainability of infrastructure services, focusing on the energy sector and climate mitigation. This loan, the third agreed by Germany, raises total financial support to €1.3bn (US$1.5bn).
Meanwhile, South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has issued a request for pre-qualification (RFQ) for new power transmission infrastructure, under the first stage of its independent transmission projects (ITP) procurement programme. The ITP aims at building 1,164 km of 400 kV power transmission lines and associated infrastructure across Northern Cape, North-West, and Gauteng. Bids are due by 23 September 2025.
According to the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2019) and Eskom’s Transmission Development Plan (TDP 2024–2033), more than 14,000 km of new transmission lines will be required in the next decade to accommodate an additional 53 GW of generation capacity. Grid expansion must be accelerated, necessitating a minimum of 1,400 km per year required for the country’s energy security requirements.