The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) has partneres with investment advisers Climate Fund Managers (CFM) to set up a US$1.3 billion fund to build high-voltage transmission lines linking countries in the region.
SAPP and CFM said in a joint statement on Wednesday that an initial US$20 million has been committed by both organisations for the newly established Regional Transmission Infrastructure Financing Facility (RTIFF).
“Access to capital is the number one barrier facing developers of energy transmission infrastructure across SAPP’s members,” said Victor Mapani, chairperson of the SAPP executive committee.
He added: “RTIFF dismantles this by enabling the private sector to work alongside public sector utilities to roll out new transmission lines at scale.”
The facility would have a lifespan of between 20 and 25 years and is expected to reach a final close of US$1.3 billion within two years, the statement said.
Resources for the fund would be raised from public and private sector investors locally and internationally, according to SAPP and CFM.
A push towards renewable energy, including wind, solar and battery storage, has highlighted the shortage of high-voltage connections across the region where projects, often in remote areas, were unable to connect to national grids.
NM/jn/APA