Giant SA power plant gets WB nod

WASHINGTON - Eskom Holdings Ltd, South Africa's state-owned electricity supplier, received approval for a $3.75 billion loan from the World Bank (WB) to help build one of the world's largest coal-fired power plants.

The deal is the institution's first major loan to South Africa since apartheid ended in 1994, the bank said. The United States, the bank's biggest shareholder, and the United Kingdom were among nations that abstained from voting.

"Without an increased energy supply, South Africans will face hardship for the poor and limited economic growth," said Obiageli Ezekwesili, the World Bank's vice-president for Africa, in the statement.