On the occasion of the jubilee marking 40 years of business, the company announced a new three-year investment cycle in Serbia and the region, equal to the total investment so far. All current and future projects were presented to us by Mihailo Janković, general manager of MK Group.
MK Group is a system that grew out of agriculture, which is why it will continue to be focused on agriculture and the food industry, in which it will invest 350 million euros over the next three years. With the aim of expanding capacity and increasing productivity, according to General Director Mihail Janković, MK Group will invest in digitization, automation of processes and application of artificial intelligence. With a three-year investment of 380 million euros, new exclusive real estate projects will be realized, and the plan is to improve hotel services. 900 million euros will be invested in green energy. We talk about all upcoming projects with Mihailo Janković, general manager of MK Group.
The public In Serbia and the region had the opportunity to see the jubilee campaign of the MK Group company, which was accompanied by very interesting advertising solutions with images of new projects and the optimistic slogan “Celebrating the future”. With congratulations for the anniversary, we can’t help but notice that these four decades have put the wind at your back, because you announce that, when it comes to MK Group, the best is yet to come.
‒ We decided to celebrate this anniversary a little differently. We did not want to look back on past successes, although we are extremely proud of them, because the effort and work invested in these 40 years have brought MK Group to the position of one of the most successful regional investment companies with strong operations in agriculture, tourism and energy. As looking back into the past is common for birthday campaigns, we chose to announce new investments through our “Celebrating the Future” campaign, present the company’s development in the coming period and future projects, because what is inherent in our vision of constant growth and development is precisely that we are always looking forward. We do not hide that our plans are very ambitious, which is why we are sure that the best is yet to come, because in the next three years alone we will invest the same amount that MK Group invested in the first 40 years of its existence.
What is the value of the planned investments and in which areas will you invest?
‒ We are talking about an investment cycle worth 1.6 billion euros, which we will implement in the next three years, both in Serbia and in the entire Adriatic region, in three key areas of our business. So, in the areas in which we have shown strategic commitment and expertise over the past 40 years. The largest part of the investments is focused on the green agenda and electricity production projects from wind, solar and biomass power.
Thanks to investments worth 900 million euros, by 2026 we will launch renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 1 GW.
MK Group is a system that grew out of agriculture, so we remain focused on agriculture and the food industry, in which we will invest 350 million euros over the next three years. With the aim of expanding capacity and increasing productivity, we invest in digitization, process automation and the application of artificial intelligence. With a three-year investment of 380 million euros, we will implement new exclusive real estate projects, but also improve the facilities and services of our hotels. Investments in the development of our businesses will be accompanied by significant investments in our 4,000 employees.
You are planning really big investments in green energy of up to 900 million euros. What projects are we talking about?
‒ By the end of this year, we will open the first wind farm in Eastern Serbia – “Krivača”, an investment worth 165 million euros, with a capacity of 105 MW. With 22 wind turbines, it will produce 310 GWh of green energy annually, which is equivalent to the annual electricity needs of 75,000 households. “Krivača” is a partnership project with the Slovenian investment fund Alfi. We are also building two more wind farms in Vojvodina – “Tower 2” and “Košava phase 2”.
I will remind you that there are three of our wind farms in Vojvodina, which we built in cooperation with the company Fintel energija – “Kula”, “La Piccolina” and “Košava”. Together with this company, we are developing the first agrosolar project in the Balkans and the largest in Europe – “Agrosolar Tower”. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it combines the production of green energy with sustainable agricultural production. We are investing 340 million euros in this solar power plant, with a capacity of 660 MW. The solar panels will cover 770 hectares, and the planned annual production of green energy is about 832 GWh, which meets the needs of nearly 200,000 households. Through independent and partner investments in green energy planned in the coming period, MK Group contributes to the achievement of the goal of the Republic of Serbia to increase the share of energy from renewable sources to close to 50 percent by 2040.
MK Group confirms its leadership position in Serbian agriculture with above-average yields that are achieved with more than 13,000 hectares that you cultivate. What are the planned investments in this area and how does the current global situation affect business in this sector?
‒ Food needs around the world are growing along with population growth, which automatically requires greater productivity and effectiveness in food production. Climate change has a great impact on yields, along with the need to take care of the land as the most important resource and sustainable agricultural production. A systemic approach to agriculture is key, and this is exactly how we approach the business development of our MK Farming division. Concretely in Serbia, one of the priorities should be a significant increase in the area under irrigation. As much as 70 percent of the areas we cultivate are irrigated, with continuous investments in increasing the fields under irrigation systems.
Our investments will be focused on digitization, such as land mapping, variable seeding and fertilization, the use of robots and artificial intelligence. All this enables us to achieve returns above multi-year averages. We also apply new technologies on the pig farms of our member company Carnex, in order to increase production productivity while taking care of the conditions in which the animals are raised. We are also investing in milking robots in cattle breeding, on dairy cow farms for milk production in Bečej.
As part of the jubilee campaign, we saw that you also announced the opening of an alcohol factory. Tell us more about that.
‒ Yes, we started a new investment of 33 million euros in Kovačica. It is about the alcohol factory Sunal, whose production capacity will be about 30 million liters per year, and alcohol will be produced in three forms – food, pharmaceutical and bioethanol.
Thanks to this investment, Serbia will become a significant exporter of alcohol for the first time, thereby contributing to the overall increase in the value of the Serbian economy. We are particularly proud of this investment, because our country currently imports alcohol.
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