By Scott Malone

BOSTON (Reuters) - SPX Corp sees South Africa as likely to be its next high-growth developing market, as that country's major utility and power producers contemplate a wave of investment to meet soaring electricity demand, the diversified manufacturer's chief executive said on Wednesday.

South African cities and industry have been hit by frequent blackouts in recent years as state utility Eskom has struggled with an aging infrastructure.

"South Africa is on the horizon as the next growth region," SPX Chairman and CEO Chris Kearney told Reuters. "It's being driven by the same phenomenon that's driving growth in China, and that is the need to build a power grid."

SPX sells cooling towers and other other heavy equipment used in power plants.

Electricity demand in South Africa has climbed as the nation's economy has grown, driven by energy-hungry industries like mining and smelting. The South African government this week said it expects its economy to grow 4.9 percent this year, slowing to 4.5 percent next year.

"They are behind the curve now in terms of being able to meet power demand with respect to growth in that country," Kearney said in a telephone interview. "It's something that we see ramping up in the short term for people in our industry."

Eskom has unveiled plans to spend more than $20 billion to refurbish its coal-burning power plans, as well as to build new coal and nuclear plants. It has also committed to being the sole buyer of power from South Africa's independent producers, in an effort to spur new investment in generation.

Kearney said Charlotte, North Carolina-based SPX, which reported better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, would consider stepping up its presence in South Africa if demand developed.

"The business presence that we've had there has been more of a maintenance mode," Kearney said. "We do have a manufacturing presence there and certainly capacity to expand."