TURKISH powership group Karadeniz Holdings has vehemently denied allegations that it was secretly working to eject its South Africa’s black economic empowerment (BEE) joint-venture partner on the multibillion-rand powerships deal in favour of a politically connected one.
This comes after AmaBhungane reported on Friday that Karadeniz last month won an urgent court application brought by its South African BEE partner, Powergroup SA, to reinstate its 49% stake in the powerships deal after Karadeniz exercised a call option to remove Powergroup out of the joint venture, Karpowership SA.
Karpowership SA, Karadeniz and Powergroup’s 51%-49% JV won the majority of the R218 billion, 20-year contract under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMI4P) tender to supply dispatchable (on demand) power to Eskom.
On Friday, Karadeniz said AmaBhungane’s report regarding the legal challenge to Powergroup was unsubstantiated, adding that there were two court judgments that showcased the misrepresentation from Powergroup.
“We reject any suggestion that our relations with any company have been undertaken to influence government or any official for gains. If there is a change in shareholding it will follow due process and should not be reflected with prejudice,” it said in a statement.
“We have always managed our relations with key stakeholders ethically and transparently while fully co-operating with all relevant authorities throughout the lengthy process. We remain committed to delivering our three LNG-to-Power projects that will provide over 1.2 gigawatts of urgently needed, reliable power to South Africa’s grid.”
The powerships contract has been mired in controversy and delays in obtaining environmental permits and access to build infrastructure in the ports.
Karpowership SA proposes a controversial 20-year-long gas-to-power via powership project at the Port of Ngqura in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality.
It will locate the three powership projects at the ports of Richards Bay, Ngqura and Saldanha Bay to generate electricity from natural gas to be evacuated through transmission lines to substations linking to the national grid.
This is part of the solutions the country is considering to mitigate the effects of crippling electricity shortages.
Gas, as per the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, has been identified as one of the most affordable and reliable forms of power.
Last month, the company moved one step closer to having one of its three controversial gas-to-power projects realised after the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) issued an interim decision on the company’s appeal, challenging its decision to reject the Environmental Authorisation (EA) for the Port of Ngqura located at the Coega Special Economic Zone in the Eastern Cape.
The interim decision issued by the DFFE on August 28 primarily seeks clarity on the strategic engagements that Karpowership held with the Transnet National Port Authority (TNPA) for a suitable alternative location for the powerships to be moored at the Port of Ngqura.
In March, the DFFE had issued a record of refusal on one of Karpowership SA’s applications for EA for the proposed projects for the Ports of Ngqura and Saldanha Bay after the company had asked for an extension to appeal against the ruling following failure to reach consensus on the proposal with the TNPA.
But the company has since held extensive engagements with TNPA following its notification that the initial powership location was unavailable due to TNPA’s proposed port expansion and liquid bulk terminal plans, and now the two are working to reach an alternative solution for the mooring of the vessels.
Going forward, Karpowership SA will continue to work together with the TNPA, as per the DFFE’s directive, to enable the DFFE to make a final, concluding decision on its appeal and finalise the environmental impact assessment process, to ensure that these projects go ahead.
BUSINESS REPORT