Pretoria -The construction of the Medupi Power Station will ease the country's electricity demand said Energy Minister Dipuo Peters on Tuesday.
In 2009, Eskom signed a R20.7 billion loan agreement with the African Development Bank (AFDB) for the project. The total cost of the Medupi project is estimated at R124.42 billion and the funding will be used to fund the supply and installation of boilers and turbo-generators.
"The challenge for us as a country is to sustain economic growth without having to worry whether the increased electricity supply constraint will force us into blackouts," she said.
Speaking in Johannesburg at a meeting with Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), Peters said energy shortages have provided government with an opportunity to take the economy of this country on a different trajectory.
"Medupi represents the first of a series of new power stations that will be constructed over the next decade or so.
The construction of the Medupi power station is expected to start in September this year.
The power station is part of the power utility's capital expenditure programme, aimed at reducing the country's electricity generation capacity deficit. It is expected to provide additional generation capacity of 4.764 mega watts.
The first unit of the Medupi project is scheduled for completion in 2012 with the entire station completed by 2015.
