CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – The development bank of the BRICS group of emerging economies has approved funding of $790 million for three South African projects, the bank’s president said on Monday.

“We plan to end the year with total loan approvals of about $2.3 billion in South Africa,” New Development Bank president K.V. Kamath told the bank’s annual meeting in Cape Town.

A bank source told Reuters that $480 million of the approved funding was for struggling South African state power firm’s Medupi coal-fired power plant.

Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Alexander Winning