South African Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba met with representatives of the World Bank earlier this month to discuss issues relating to Eskom Holdings.

Gigaba met with the bank to discuss the financing of the State-owned power utility’s Medupi project, his spokesperson, Mayihlome Tshwete said by phone last week.

Other State-owned enterprises, including South African Airways, the national airline, which is struggling to meet debt obligations, were also discussed at the meeting, according to two people who asked not to be identified because the information was not public. Another topic that came up was nuclear energy, said one of the people.

The talks did not include discussions on South Africa’s nuclear plan, Tshwete said.

World Bank representatives “regularly meet with officials in our client countries to discuss the implementation of ongoing projects, and that was the focus of the recent dialogue in South Africa”, the World Bank said in an emailed reply to questions. The organisation, as a matter of global policy, did not finance nuclear projects, it said.

The World Bank granted Eskom a $3.75-billion loan in 2010 to help fund expansions. Of the total, $3.05-billion was for the 4 800 MW Medupi plant, one of two large new coal-fired power projects that had run over budget and were years behind schedule.

However, a World Bank inspection panel in 2012 found instances of noncompliance in its award of the loan. The impacts and risks for other local water users were not properly considered and the project would place strain on water resources in an area already suffering from scarcity, it said at the time.

Eskom last year began a process to add 9 600 MW of nuclear power capacity beyond its single existing plant by issuing a request for information from vendors. The procurement process stalled in April after a provincial court ruled that government did not follow the correct procedure in pursuing the nuclear programme.

Gigaba said on October 26 that South Africa could not afford to build new reactors for at least five years and that it did not need more baseload, or continuous, power capacity. Nuclear still remained a part of the energy plan and government would look at it as an option when needed and when it could afford it, he said.