Serbian power network will get another drive of 300 megawatts on December 25th in “Kostolac”, by which the total electricity production in the country will increase by ten percent.
At the same time, with guests from the Chinese company CMEC, who finances the entire mine reconstruction, were agreed concrete arrangements on the construction of TPP “Kostolac B3” in order the foundations to be laid by the end of next year.
– Contract with the Chinese on the plant B3 will be initialed in the Serbian Parliament by the end of February – says Dragan Jovanovic, general director of “Kostolac”
Then we will have to pay an advance of 107 million dollars. The next is plan of technical documents design and draft, so starting a work is planned for about a year. The deal is worth 715 million dollars, and we expect about 30 percent to go to our companies, primarily construction and those engaged in mechanical engineering. The Chinese will bring their own equipment, and operative part will work Serbian companies.
Construction of “Kostolac 3” is extremely important both to Serbian and Chinese side, because both countries will set the basis for further work.
– We will get the thermal power plant after 30 years, but also the energy stability and security of electricity supply and this would be the first major project for the Chinese in Europe – explains Jovanovic.
– It is good that we have closely worked with them in the past three years to renew units. All original disagreements and adjustment period, especially around our building law, were overcome. After three years, we do it much better.
With the reconstruction of unit B1, which will start to operate next week, the first phase of the “Kostolac” will end for which a Chinese loan was received. The revitalization cost was 110 million dollars, of which around a quarter went to the domestic industry because our companies were engaged. The delay was minimal, about a month and a half ago, due to the May floods.
How much is important power plant to the Chinese, also confirms Wang Hong, vice president of the company CMEC, which is visited “Kostolac” on Friday.
– Now we have experience in Serbia, we will fulfill all the requirements of this country – says Hong. – The project will certainly be completed on time. We rebuilt the unit B1, and we will also organize the training for engineers in Serbia, in order the plant to operate normally. We are also interested in other activities in Serbia in the field of energy, and we are ready to offer a new model for funding, through investment.
Chinese borrow 608 million dollars to our country for a new project in the mine, while the rest of the 107 million dollars goes to the expense of the state. The loan has a grace period of seven years, and as the deadline for the completion of the power plant is five years, we will begin to pay out it when we would have a plant. So the idea is that plant pays at least part of the rate by himself.