“Hidroelektrane na Drini” – a subsidiary of state-owned ERS – has approved an additional capital injection of 7 million euros into its subsidiary HPP Bistrica.
The decision was made at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on 16 February. The capital increase will be executed through the conversion of receivables into equity, effectively raising the registered capital of HPP Bistrica. The move is described as a strategic development investment, aimed at advancing the construction agreement signed with the Chinese engineering group China National Aero Technology International Engineering Corporation (AVIC).
This latest contribution continues a series of financial supports provided to the project in recent years. According to audited financial statements, “Hidroelektrane na Drini” previously recapitalized HPP Bistrica with 2 million euros in 2020, 21 million euros in 2022, and 11.7 million euros in 2023. With the newly approved 7 million euros, the cumulative investment in the project reaches around 40 million euros.
The planned construction of HPP Bistrica is estimated at 102 million euros. The majority of financing, around 75 million euros, is expected through a loan from China’s Exim Bank, while the remaining funds are to be provided by the government of the Republic of Srpska (RS). RS regained ownership of HPP Bistrica in 2019, marking its second acquisition of the company. Originally privatized in 2008 and sold to Kaldera Company for 3.5 million euros, the company was repurchased eleven years later for 11 million euros, significantly above the initial sale price.
The HPP Bistrica complex consists of three cascade hydropower plants (B1, B2a, and B3) on the lower course of the Bistrica River near Foča. The combined installed capacity of the three plants is 39 MW, with estimated annual electricity generation of 152 GWh.
