ERS breaks ground for Mrsovo hydropower plant in BiH

ERS formally marked the start of construction of the Mrsovo hydroelectric power plant, with a planned capacity of 37.3 MW. The investment, worth nearly EUR 100 million euros, has been entrusted to Turkish company NGA. ERS took over the project at the beginning of the year, from Russian company Comsar.

The Mrsovo facility in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina will have an installed capacity of 37.3 MW and an average annual production of 140.6 GWh of electricity, state-owned coal and power producer Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske said.

Turkish company NGA is the contractor for the hydropower plant. The investment is worth EUR 98 million.

The location is on the lower course of the Lim river, three kilometers downstream from the Mrsovo village and nine from the town of Rudo.

Mrsovo will pay off in 12 years

General Manager of ERS Luka Petrović said Mrsovo would pay off in just 12 years at current electricity prices.

The Turkish company will build a concrete gravity dam with a height of 37 meters, along with the associated facilities, while the equipment will be provided by Austrian manufacturer Voith, he added.

Petrović said the contractor already owns four hydropower plants and that it guarantees that the Mrsovo project would be built within 31 months.

ERS is providing the financing through its subsidiary ERS-Obnovljivi izvori energije from Ljubinje, which will oversee the works, Petrović explained.

ERS’s subsidiary took over the project at the turn of the year

Mrsovo project is under development for more than a decade. The cornerstone was already laid once, in 2014.

Comsar Hydro Holding, owned by Russian billionaire Rashid Serdarov, was granted the concession in 2012, for 30 years.

At that time, Comsar Energy Hidro, was established in Banja Luka. The company got an extension of the concession to 50 years in 2020.

A 50-year concession has been granted for Mrsovo

The company ERS-Obnovljivi izvori energije signed an agreement at the end of 2022 to take over Comsar Energy Hidro.

Earlier, in November 2022, Comsar signed a construction contract with NGA worth 98 million euros excluding value-added tax.

ERS said Comsar has obtained the technical documentation, provided the conceptual design, and conducted a feasibility study with elements of environmental protection.

However, following a lawsuit by the Center for the Environment, the Banja Luka District Court annulled the environmental impact assessment at the beginning of the year.

The relevant ministry did not accept the court’s ruling and issued the environmental permit.

Minister of Energy and Mining Petar Đokić said a bridge was already built and that the space for the dam was prepared alongside a quarry. There are investment projects in the energy sector under development in Srpska EUR 2.55 billion, he pointed out.