New Development Bank approves up to $1 billion loan for water projects in South Africa

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) -The New Development Bank has approved a new loan of up to $1 billion to finance water and sanitation projects among poorer households in South Africa, the bank said in a statement on Saturday.

The loan will be used under South Africa's Municipal Infrastructure Grant, a conditional grant used by municipalities to reduce backlogs and enhance the provision of basic services to poorer communities.

The bank, which was set up by the BRICS group of emerging economies in 2015, also approved a loan of $150 million equivalent in the local Chinese currency renminbi to China's Bank of Communications Financial Leasing for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) transportation project.

The loan will be used to acquire at least three LNG carriers to help address rising demand for the super-cooled gas in China, as well as help close the gap between demand and supply of LNG carrier capacity, the NDB statement said.

(Reporting by Wendell RoelfEditing by Gareth Jones and Tomasz Janowski)