Namibia: Gazprom unit signs $1bn deal

Gazprom's banking unit had struck a $1 billion (R7.9bn) agreement with Namibian energy company Namcor to build a new power plant in Namibia, the Russian energy giant said on Friday. Under the deal, Russia would build a power plant generating energy for both Namibia and South Africa, getting a foothold in the lucrative Kudu gas field, Namibia's only commercial field to date. The deal was reached during a visit to Windhoek by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. "The cost of the project is about $1 billion to $1.2 billion," said Boris Ivanov, head of Gazprom International - Sapa-AFP