At the investment conference held at the headquarters of China Power Construction Corporation in Beijing in August 2026, more than 260 representatives from both China and South Africa gathered around the South African power grid planning sand table, pointing to the layout of 14500 kilometers of new transmission lines for lively discussions. The just concluded South African energy visit to China directly opened the investment outlet of the South African power grid of R440 billion, and became a new milestone of China Africa energy interconnection under the the Belt and Road framework.

Billion rand power grid investment fully launched

South Africa's "Integrated Resource Plan 2025" has defined a blueprint for energy construction with a total scale of 2.23 trillion rand, planning to add 105 gigawatts of power generation capacity by 2039, of which approximately 440 billion rand corresponds to investment opportunities for transmission network expansion. The South African National Transmission Company disclosed that the priority transmission expansion project has a scale of 134 billion rand. In the first five years, 5000 kilometers of new transmission lines will be built, which can release 30 gigawatts of new power access space. By 2034, a total of 14500 kilometers of transmission lines will be completed, with an additional transformer capacity of 133000 megavolt amperes.

This batch of construction needs directly corresponds to the full chain of power grid materials such as transformers, cables, towers, inverters, smart meters, energy storage equipment, etc. Currently, 90% of inverters in South Africa rely on imports, and transformer imports account for 60%. The technological and production capacity advantages of Chinese energy equipment enterprises can precisely match the urgent needs of South Africa at present.

Chinese capital deeply participates in jointly building energy hubs

The first round of independent transmission projects in South Africa has officially introduced private capital and opened up the full process participation rights for the development, financing, construction, and operation of transmission assets. In December 2025, the government selected 7 consortia from 17 pre qualification applications, among which two Chinese funded consortia led by State Grid International and Southern Power Grid International were successfully selected, and Chinese funded enterprises have already appeared on the project side.

Equipment suppliers can connect to three types of procurement channels, namely the South African National Transmission Company's direct construction package, independent transmission project consortium procurement, and local manufacturing supply chain of the project. When the imported content of the project reaches 10 million US dollars, the national industrial participation plan will be triggered, requiring the bidding party to bear 30% of the industrial participation obligation of the import amount, which can be completed through capital investment, technology transfer personnel training, authorized production and other methods, with a performance period of up to 7 years.

The overall plan for renewable energy in South Africa specifies the annual implementation of 3 to 5 gigawatts of renewable energy projects, with localized manufacturing targets of 50% for solar energy, 47% for wind power, and 60% for battery energy storage by 2030. Six Chinese key energy equipment manufacturers have expressed clear investment intentions during South Africa's visit to China, and the final commitments will be confirmed to form executable projects in the future.

Under the framework of the Belt and Road connectivity, China South Africa energy cooperation is no longer a simple export of equipment, but a deep binding model of technology sharing and capacity building. This energy cooperation link spanning mountains and seas will help South Africa completely reverse the long-term power shortage situation, and also write a new practical example for the China Africa high-quality energy partnership.Editor/Cheng Liting