South African state-owned power firm Eskom will get a 2.9 billion rand ($205 million) loan from the African Development Bank to upgrade and expand its transmission network, the bank said on Thursday.
The loan will fund the construction of 555 kilometres of transmission lines in the KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces, as well as the upgrading of substation equipment.
Cash-strapped Eskom is struggling to emerge from a financial crisis characterised by declining electricity sales, shrinking cash flow and ballooning debt.
($1 = 14.0661 rand)
Editing by Ed Stoddard