The ExIm Bank, the US entity that provided the loan to build Kusile, is the official export credit agency of the US government, authorized and funded by Congress. Its mission is to support projects that will create US jobs, through loans to support business ventures that would increase exports of US products.
In the case of Kusile, the loan was provided so that Eskom could hire the Kansas-based engineering and construction management company Black & Veatch International. But it's not entirely clear how many jobs that construction of this plant will create in the US; the ExIm press release claimed "hundreds of highly-skilled American senior engineers and support personnel" would be employed by providing goods or expertise for this project, but no more specific figures have been put forward.
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A significant chunk of Kusile's upfront financing—$805 million—came from a direct loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States to Eskom, South Africa's state-owned electric power utility.
Construction on the plant began in 2007 and is expected to be completed in 2015. In April 2011, ExIm agreed to provide the loan to the plant to help ensure its construction.
Edited by hiker, 09 December 2011 - 08:09 AM.
