Company news in brief
Nedbank, IDC to lend Pele Green R2.5bnPele Green Energy has won R2.5 billion in funding from lenders including Nedbank to help it build renewable power plants including one ordered by Anglo American Platinum.
The other creditors include Norfund AS and the Industrial Development Corporation, development finance institutions owned by the governments of Norway and South Africa respectively, said Gqi Raoleka, Pele’s managing director. Nedbank will provide R1 billion, the IDC R829 million and Norfund R658 million.
The funding, 80% of which will be used for constructing new renewable energy plants, comes as the Johannesburg-based company pushes forward with plans to develop 2 000 megawatts of generation capacity.
About 80% of the projects Pele plans to develop are for the private sector with the rest being through bids in government-run auctions to supply the national grid.
The 100 megawatt solar power plant it’s developing for Anglo Platinum is one of the first the company will complete for a private client. – Fin24/Bloomberg
Transnet halts private rail plan
Transnet withdrew a request for quotes for an operating lease on a freight-rail artery that connects its biggest port with its industrial hub, because changes in the nation’s transport policy have affected the scope of the project.
Transnet first issued the call for private-sector partners on the so-called Container Corridor linking Durban with Johannesburg on 27 January, it said in a statement yesterday.
Reforms contained in the National Rail Policy and Economic Regulation of Transport Bill — which include separating rail operations from infrastructure — mean that Transnet needs to review the process for bringing in private companies, it said.
Transnet, which operates the nation’s ports, fuel pipelines and freight rail system, has amassed R130 billion of debt after years of mismanagement, underinvestment and corruption that have impacted its services and weighed on the economy.
Coal shipments on South Africa’s freight-rail network have plunged to 30-year lows and iron-ore railings are at their lowest in a decade, prompting companies including Glencore to consider cutting jobs. Port snarl-ups are resulting in delays to the loading and offloading of ships and some fashion retailers have resorted to flying in apparel. – Fin24/Bloomberg
‘SA's railway crisis has worsened’
Thungela Resources, the coal miner spun out of Anglo American, says the railway crisis continued to weigh heavily on coal exports in the second half of the year as Transnet operations continued to deteriorate.
The coal miner said Transnet the annualised run rate for the second half of the year has fallen to 45.9 million tonnes from 48 million in the first, meaning the total for the year as a whole is about 6% lower than last year.
Thungela has been forced to respond to the rail underperformance by cutting production at three underground sections earlier this year. It has also resorted to trucking some of its coal to better manage stockpile capacity at its operations.
"We continued to truck coal from our operations to nearby (railway) sidings, allowing for further rail loading options and reducing the risk of train cancellations," the company said.
The removal of three underground sections in response to poor rail performance resulted in a decrease of 7.6% compared to the prior year's 13.1 million tonnes, though sales have been relatively stable year on year. The group had issued guidance of between 11.5 million tonnes to 12.5 million in August. – Fin24