The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) and investment advisers Climate Fund Managers have announced the launch of a new $1.3 billion target fund for the Regional Transmission Infrastructure Financing Facility (RTIFF) to construct high-voltage transmission lines connecting countries in the region, the investment company revealed.
The mechanism, which is being launched with $20 million in SAPP commitments, is targeting a first closing of $500 million in 2025, to be raised from public and private sector investors locally and internationally, and a final closing of $1.3 billion within 24 months.
"RTIFF will prioritize projects that focus on connecting currently unconnected SAPP members, help relieve congestion bottlenecks to regional electricity trading, promote intercontinental power trading through transmission corridors, and support the adoption of new generation renewable energy space in the region," the statement said.
Victor Mapani, chairperson of the SAPP executive committee, emphasized the transformative potential of the RTIFF in dismantling barriers to regional integration.
"Access to capital is the number one barrier facing developers of energy transmission infrastructure. RTIFF dismantles this by enabling the private sector to work alongside public sector utilities to roll out new transmission lines at scale," he said.
With Malawi already connected to Mozambique and Tanzania to Zambia, the next key project is to connect Angola to Namibia, Stephen Dihwa, executive director of SAPP, told the media.
He disclosed that the cost of the Angola-Namibia interconnection is estimated at $356 million, which is about one-tenth of the total investment needed to build transmission lines by 2040 to strengthen regional integration.
"Interconnection across SAPP via strategic transmission corridors can save the SADC region an estimated $37-42 billion in Net Present Value (NPV) by 2040. We have identified eight high-priority transmission projects for RTIFF that will bring economic benefits of $4.3 billion in NPV," Dihwa concluded.
The SAPP was established in 1995 at the SADC summit held in South Africa, when member governments of SADC (excluding Mauritius) signed an Intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding to establish an electricity power pool in the region under the name of the Southern African Power Pool.