The National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening local industrial capacity to support South Africa’s transmission infrastructure expansion.
The arrangement, announced on Monday, is linked to transmission projects delivered under the Independent Transmission Projects (ITP) programme, and targets suppliers and manufacturers in the transmission value chain rather than directly financing transmission projects.
The Transmission Development Plan (TDP) for 2025-34, unveiled in October 2024, sets out the construction of 14,500km of new transmission lines and expanded transformer capacity over the next decade. The plan places the investment requirement at about R440bn. Network expansion is focused on strengthening the system, particularly in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
The IDC said the initiative will support local manufacturers supplying transmission components, including transformers, insulators, transmission steel, conductors and other grid infrastructure inputs identified by the NTCSA as “supply-constrained components”.
According to the two companies, existing and new suppliers may qualify for support, provided they meet NTCSA’s technical requirements.
IDC CEO Mmakgoshi Lekhethe said the agreement is critical to supporting South Africa’s energy security and broader industrial development, adding that the IDC is “ready to fund viable entities that will be selected to be part of the grid network expansion programme”.
The initiative follows the announcement of the seven international-led consortiums as prequalified bidders by electricity & energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa in December 2025, under the first phase of the Independent Transmission Projects (ITP) procurement programme.
The IDC said the MoU arrangement is a separate enabling mechanism to capacitate local manufacturers to be able to supply into the TDP.
NTCSA CEO Monde Bala said the TDP will create a substantial demand for manufactured inputs and components, “placing a strong emphasis on ensuring the development of adequate local manufacturing capacity and capability to deliver”.
“This agreement is designed to support verified suppliers identified by the NTCSA through its procurement processes and equip them with technical expertise and potential financial backing from the IDC to build sustainable capacity to deliver TDP projects,” Bala said. “It will also strengthen supplier development, localisation and industrialisation.”
The IDC declined to disclose the scale of funding, which is understood to run into billions of rand.
South Africa’s transmission expansion is widely viewed as critical to enabling new generation capacity, but supply chain constraints, particularly in high-voltage equipment, have been flagged as a potential risk to delivery.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.