Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic said today that the Electric Power Industry of Serbia will not be privatised and that it is crucial that Serbia keeps control of its package of shares in the energy sector.
Speaking in Perucac, at a ceremony held on the occasion of completion of the third phase and the opening of works on the fourth phase of revitalisation of the hydroelectric power plant “Bajina Basta”, Dacic said that this does not mean that there will be no more strategic partnerships.
He emphasised that Serbia needs development projects and investments because that is the only way out of the economic crisis, and underlined that revitalisation of “Bajina Basta” is part of the economic recovery of the country.
Dacic announced that many projects in various fields of energy are expected in the future and voiced his hope that the revitalisation of “Bajina Basta” power plant will be completed on time, by next year.
Also, he noted that the Drina river should not be a subject of various disputes, but a river that connects Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Minister of Energy, Development and Environment Zorana Mihajlovic expressed her hope that the Electric Power Industry of Serbia will be ready for the heating season and that the citizens of Serbia will have enough electric energy, and that implementation of new projects in the energy sector will begin next year.
Mihajlovic underlined that one of the priorities of the Ministry of Energy and the Serbian government is the construction of the hydroelectric power plant “Bistrica“ and that the Drina river is the most important environmental and energy river for Serbia.
She expressed satisfaction with the revitalisation of “Bajina Basta“ and said she hopes that new capacities will be built soon.
Director of the German Development Bank (KfW) in Belgrade Jurgen Welschof recalled that the project of revitalisation of the hydroelectric power plant “Bajina Basta” began in 2003 and that 90% of the work has been completed so far.
Welschof expressed the hope that the entire project will be completed next year, when revitalisation of hydroelectric power plant “Zvornik” will begin.
The probation work of the third renovated unit in “Bajina Basta“ has been completed today and the works on the renovation of the fourth unit have been opened. Once the modernisation is completed, the production of electricity will be increased by 40 million kW hours per year.
The plan is that the entire revitalisation of this hydroelectric power plant, by which its power per unit will be increased by 13 MW, be completed in August next year.
€77 million will be invested in the revitalisation of “Bajina Basta“, the most important investment so far, of which €30 million is the loan of the German Development Bank, while €47 million are funds of the Electric Power Industry of Serbia from the sale of electricity.
After the revitalisation, the operating life of the hydroelectric power plant will be extended by 30 to 40 years.
Source Serbia Gov.
