TNPA said on Thursday that this agreement is positioning the Eastern Cape as a strategic energy hub while advancing South Africa’s energy security and industrial growth.
The development of an onshore LNG regasification facility at the deepwater port of Ngqura is a “direct response to South Africa’s Just Energy Transition program, which is set to unlock a planned 6,000 MW gas-to-power pipeline,” TNPA said.
It said the LNG facility will serve as “critical fuel infrastructure that is much needed to support 3000 MW gas-to-power allocation, providing lower-carbon baseload electricity required to complement the country’s growing renewable energy mix.”
TNPA noted that the project features the establishment of a temporary floating unit.
Included in the scope is the construction of permanent onshore infrastructure to supply gas to offtakers, industry, data centres and independent power producers to enable the production of approciamtely 3,500MW of electricity within the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
2035
According to TNPA, this project is worth approximately 22 billion rand ($1.34 billion).
It will see the construction of the 2 billion rand dedicated LNG berth by TNPA happening simultaneously with the
development of the onshore facility, targeting full operationalization by 2035, it said.
Moreover, through this public-private partnership, TNPA continues to “leverage on strategic collaborations and expertise to modernize the port infrastructure, while enabling national development imperatives.”
The project is expected to create over 500 jobs during the construction period of approximately 36 months and 50 permanent jobs post-construction, it said.
TNPA added that this development has been designated as a national strategic integrated project, aimed at strengthening the country’s energy security by advancing strategic gas infrastructure required to stabilize national electricity supply.
South Africa LNG imports
South Africa, which currently does not have LNG import terminals, said last year that it plans to buy LNG from the US under a 10-year deal.
Besides the Ngqura LNG project, TNPA signed last year a 25-year terminal operator agreement with a joint venture consisting of Dutch terminal operator Vopak and its consortium partner Transnet Pipelines for South Africa’s first LNG import terminal.
In January 2024, TNPA appointed the two firms to build and operate the import facility at the Port of Richards Bay.
Specifically, the consortium was appointed to design, develop, construct, finance, operate, and maintain the LNG terminal in the South Dunes precinct for a period of 25 years.
Both TNPA and Transnet Pipeline are part of the South African rail, port, and pipeline company Transnet.
