Serbia To Invest 18 Mln Euro in Rovni Hydro System

BELGRADE (Serbia), July 30 (SeeNews) – The government in Belgrade will invest an additional 18 million euro ($25 million) in its Rovni hydro system in central Serbia as preparation for the construction of two generation units at its Kolubara B coal-fired power plant, local broadcaster b92 (www.b92.net) reported on Thursday, quoting Energy Minister Petar Skundric.

The official did not provide a timeframe for the investment.

Serbia opened a tender in January for the construction of three power generation units with a combined capacity of 1,400 megawatts (MW) at two of its coal-fired power plants. One generation unit, with a capacity of 700 MW, will be built at Nikola Tesla Thermal Power Plants (TENT) in Obrenovac, in central Serbia. Two units, with a capacity of 350 MW each, will be built at Kolubara B power plant, located some 40 km south of the capital Belgrade.

Some 10.5 million euro were invested last year in the construction of the Rovni hydro accumulation facility, launched in 1988, b92 said.

Investment in the new power generation units is estimated at some 2.0 billion euro, Skundric said in January.

“The value of the [Kolubara B] investment is between 750 and 800 million euro, so the additional 18 million euro is a relatively small amount in comparison to the value of this strategic project,” Skundric said in the b92 article, adding that a strategic partner cannot be picked before all construction works on Rovni, on the Jablanica river, are completed.

Serbia is expected to choose a strategic partner for the construction of the three power generation units this year.

No power plants have been built in Serbia over the past 20 years.

($=0.7109 euro)

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