The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved a $474.6 million loan to support South Africa’s Infrastructure Governance and Green Growth Programme (IGGGP), marking a major step forward in the nation’s Just Energy Transition.
South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana praised the AfDB’s partnership amid persistent energy shortages and freight bottlenecks.
“With your partnership, our government has committed itself to stay the course and implement these critical reforms in the energy and transport sectors, while endeavouring to achieve our international commitments on climate change and our JET objectives,” he said.
The IGGGP aims to restructure South Africa’s power sector, support low-carbon industrialisation and improve transport efficiency — a trio of strategic priorities designed to stabilise energy supply and stimulate green growth.
The programme will also promote green hydrogen, electric vehicle manufacturing, and job creation, with a strong emphasis on gender and youth inclusion.
Seventy percent of beneficiaries of the Social Employment Fund will be women, and new youth training programmes are expected to prepare the next generation for the green economy.
The latest AfDB initiative builds on the bank’s earlier $300 million Energy Governance and Climate Resilience Programme, which laid the groundwork for critical reforms.
AfDB Southern Africa Director General Kennedy Mbekeani described the loan as a “blueprint for Africa’s energy future.”
“South Africa’s success in building a just, green and inclusive energy system demonstrates that sustainable development and economic growth can go hand in hand.”
Complementing the AfDB’s support is $1.5 billion from the World Bank, €500 million from Germany’s KfW, $200 million from Japan’s JICA and an expected $150 million from the OPEC Fund, underscoring the global significance of South Africa’s energy overhaul.
JN/APA