E1.5BN INVESTMENT, OVER 100 JOBS COMING

MBABANE – An Australia-based big battery company opening shop in the country is bringing over 100 jobs.

Frazium Energy (Pty) Limited with roots in Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom is bringing a large scale electricity storage project that will inject an estimated E1.5 billion into the Eswatini economy.

It will have its main base on Swazi Nation Land measuring 50 hectares at Edwaleni. It is privately owned by Frazium and financed by the German government.  Guests led by Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo  met the investor Robert Frazer for a stakeholder breakfast meeting hosted by Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority  at  Mountain Inn in Mbabane yesterday.

electrolyte

Founded in 2004, it is said to be the largest battery company in Africa and top 20 in the world. It comes in three key elements, namely battery farm (25-50MW / 100MWH VRFB), Solar Farm (25MW Solar) as well as an electrolyte plant with 10 million litre annual capacity.  Although located in Eswatini, it is export-orientated and has South Africa’s ESKOM and South African Power Pool as its primary market.

The purpose of yesterday’s meeting was not only to launch the project but to ensure all stakeholders were informed, aligned and in agreement. The session was also meant to address any questions or concerns and agree on the timelines.
If all goes according to plan, the construction phase which is expected to hire between 80 and 100 people should be underway in July. Then the entire project should be fully operational in December 2021.

engagements

Minister Khumalo said yesterday’s meeting was  a culmination of a series of engagements that EIPA and his ministry had with the German Chamber of Commerce, to attract German companies to open shop in Eswatini over the past year.

“These engagements were part of our aggressive approach as the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini to lure investors into Eswatini within the targeted sectors as outlined in the Strategic Road map 2019-2022.

“I’m excited that through these engagements, EIPA has been able to migrate an investment interest into a concrete project,” said the minister.

In his address, the minister disclosed that the investor was a newly-registered company that will operate a battery energy storage facility as well as invest in a facility for manufacturing the batteries.

“It is estimated that the project will create between 80 and 100 jobs during the construction phase and about 60 jobs during the operation phase.

“I would like to request the necessary support from all government entities and regulatory bodies to afford the project the means it requires to take off,” said the minister.

Frazer said it was an exciting project which represents a significant foreign direct investment opportunity for Eswatini. He highlighted that strategic geographical location which made it easy to access the large and growing southern African electricity market made Eswatini the ideal destination for the project.

“Eswatini is close to raw materials in Mpumalanga as well as the ports and markets. The political environment is stable.
“The Australian government has given Eswatini the same safety rating as Germany,” he said.

implemented

When phase two is implemented, according to Frazer, the investment can rise up to E7 billion.
EIPA CEO Sibani Mngomezulu celebrated the partnerships that gave birth to the project. Also making a brief address was Sibusisiwe Mngomezulu, who is the country’s ambassador in Brussels, Belgium.

He threw his weight behind government’s strategic road map, highlighting his excitement on the engagements that led to the arrival of the investor.

Meanwhile, stakeholders in their submissions yesterday had advised that the end of April timeline of finishing the paperwork be revised. On top of the land lease from the Ministry of Agriculture, some of the requirements include generation licence and environmental assessment report, among other requirements.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: