SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE: CREDIT GUARANTEE VEHICLE UPDATE

National Treasury has published a draft policy intended to underpin a sustainable infrastructure credit guarantee vehicle expected to be launched in July 2026, according to Engineering News. No call has been made for stakeholder input.

The document includes a brief section on government’s sustainable infrastructure investment strategy, the wording of which tends to suggest that the credit guarantee vehicle envisaged is already in place. However, recent media articles clearly state otherwise. Expected to be ready in time for the ‘first private grid projects’ (Engineering News), this ‘new majority privately owned financing vehicle’ will prioritise mobilising private capital to support just energy transition and climate resilience interventions.

To that end, the draft policy notes, among other things, that the credit guarantee vehicle:

  • is being:
    • ‘developed as a private company by the World Bank Group in partnership with … National Treasury and other development partners’
    • structured to offer credit guarantees to:
      • ‘de-risk infrastructure investments’, and
      • ‘attract private sector participation’, and
  • ‘will operate as an independent non-life insurer, licensed in terms of the (2017) Insurance Act … and regulated in terms of … applicable financial sector laws’.

Once finalised, the policy will apply to ‘all infrastructure sub-sectors eligible for support under the credit guarantee vehicle’, including:

  • renewable energy and energy storage programmes
  • transmission infrastructure
  • water infrastructure
  • wastewater treatment
  • transport infrastructure, and
  • housing and mixed-use development.

A recent Polity article quotes Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo as having assured potential investors that the credit guarantee vehicle ‘will cover projects, not entities, and won’t be a funding platform in itself’. More details may become available when Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presents his Medium Term Budget Policy Statement.

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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