Issued by: Ministry of Public Enterprises
25 AUGUST 1999 The inauguration of this new powerline linking South Africa and Namibia is an historic occasion. It is of particular significance as it concretely takes forward the agenda of regional development and co-operation. As Minister of Public Enterprises, I particularly want to commend the two power utilities, Nampower and Eskom for making this initiative a huge success.
The completion of the 400kV high voltage powerline stretching for about 900kilometres adds to the outstanding record that Eskom has been setting as a centre of excellence, well worthy of emulation by other parastatals. It is expected that the entire southern region of Namibia will have its power supplied by the newly constructed line.
I believe that the completion of the Aries-Kokerboom line is an important step towards establishing the Southern African Power Pool(SAPP) and the long-held vision of the electricity supply industry of a Southern African Grid. The latter I believe will be an effective tool for overcoming the crippling shortages of electric power in the sub-continent. The realisation of this vision will add tremendous value to strengthening the relations between countries in Southern Africa and will be a welcome impetus to economic and social development.
I believe that this powerline being opened by the Presidents of Namibia and South Africa concretely symbolises the African Renaissance in action. I am positive that through Eskom and all our other entities, we will explore further a diverse range of areas of co-operation for the mutual benefit of our countries. We look forward to the enormous development potential that a project of this nature can unlock for our region.
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