China to invest further $697M on top of $13B invested in Africa’s power sector

2016-7-28

 Africa: With over 635 million people without access to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa, the need for investment in the growth and development of its power sector is huge.

According to a recent report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), China and its state-owned companies are responsible for 30% of new capacityadditions in the power sector in the region over the last five years, reports ESI-Africa.

The report identifies project investments estimated at $13 billion between 2010 and 2015 from China.

Additionally, in December 2015, South Africa’s largest operating financial institution, Standard Bank, announced a five-year partnership with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to raise $697 million to support the development of South Africa's power generation infrastructure.

The joint partnership will support up to 100 new infrastructure and industrial projects across the continent, which will also include electricity sector.

Source: ESI-Africa