South Africa has secured a $1.5 billion Development Policy Loan from the World Bank to support reforms in the water and sanitation, freight transport and electricity sectors, with the aim of reducing infrastructure constraints, stimulating economic growth and creating jobs.
Announced by the National Treasury on Tuesday, the loan carries a 15-year maturity, including a three-year grace period, with an interest rate of six-month SOFR plus 1.35%. The Government said the favourable terms would help contain debt servicing costs.
The financing, together with support from other multilateral lenders, enables South Africa to meet its 2026/27 foreign currency borrowing requirement of $3.2 billion.
The World Bank said the facility is the fourth stand-alone Development Policy Loan extended to South Africa since 2022 and the first in the series to focus on improving the country’s water and sanitation sector.