South Africa in talks with Zambia and Zimbabwe to run Grand Inga transmission line

Minister for Minerals and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe said South Africa is initiating discussions with Zambia and Zimbabwe on the possibility of running the electricity transmission line from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) under the Grand Inga project, through which 2 500 megawatts are envisaged for the country.

Mantashe was responding to questions from members of the Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Petroleum Resources on Tuesday, who had asked about the status of the project and what the country was doing to harness regional collaboration following the decision to postpone participation in the project.

"The Grand Inga project is not ours; it’s a DRC project, given to the Spanish and Chinese. We have a right to buy equity in it, which would have to be approved by the DRC. We have not bought that equity, so we can’t really pretend to be managing the Inga project. It is not our project. We have committed ourselves to a quantity of electricity that will be taken up by South Africa, but the driving of the project is out of our jurisdiction," Mantashe said.

MKP MP Crown Prince Adil Nchabaleng objected to the Minister’s stance, indicating that South Africa still considered the project feasible.

"You can’t expect to tell us that you are going to power South Africa from the Grand Inga project. Is South Africa talking about a concession to resell in that market with regard to the 2 500 MW as an investment partnership? You cannot power South Africa from the Grand Inga project," he said.

Mantashe maintained that there were ongoing discussions.

"In the plan for Grand Inga, there is a plan for a transmission line to go through two countries to South Africa, so it is possible. Electricity is not loaded in a truck; it is transmitted through a line that can cross borders. In our discussions, we have explored the possibility of involving Zimbabwe and Zambia, as the transmission line will cross their territory. So, it is possible to get electricity from Grand Inga," Mantashe maintained.

The Grand Inga Hydropower Project, a massive dam construction on the Congo River in the DRC, is intended to generate a large amount of electricity, with South Africa being a key off-taker. This project is envisioned as a major source of clean energy for the region and potentially for the entire African continent.

South Africa has expressed interest in importing electricity from the Grand Inga project, particularly from Inga 3, the first of the new hydropower facilities.

South Africa’s energy planning assumes the country will import 2500 MW from Inga by 2030, with the potential to double this to 5 000 MW.

A long transmission line, passing through Angola, Namibia, and Botswana, would be needed to deliver power from Inga to Gauteng, South Africa’s economic heartland.

South Africa and the DRC have signed agreements on receiving electricity from Inga, and the project is in the process of finalizing an agreement and securing financing.

Meanwhile, Mantashe clarified that the launch of the South African National Petroleum Corporation (SANPC), which resulted from the restructuring of the department into two entities, may seem like a negative intervention to many, but gave the department space and opportunity to prioritise petroleum appropriately. He noted that petroleum is a source of 80% of the world’s energy but currently plays second fiddle to renewables.

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