ERS wins concession for construction of Buk Bijela

The Government of the Republic of Srpska granted a concession for the construction and operation of hydropower plant Buk Bijela on the Drina river to a consortium organized by state-owned utility Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske (ERS) and its subsidiary Hidroelektrane na Drini from Višegrad. Portal Nezavisne.com reported the the facility will be located in the municipality of Foča in the southeast of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with planned investment of BAM 382 million (EUR 195.5 million).

Petar Đokić, entity minister of industry and energy, said the construction will begin soon. Estimated installed capacity is 93.52 MW with annual production of 332.3 GWh of electricity. The concession is granted for a period of 50 years, the ministry said.

The one-off fee is EUR 391,000 and the concessionaire is obliged to pay at the conclusion of the contract. The yearly fee is 3.6% of annual revenue. A deadline of 12 months was allowed for the establishment of a new company, and the signatory of the agreement will be ERS, with consent by Hidroelektrane na Drini.

“In accordance with the agreement we have with ERS, one year is earmarked for preparatory works and activities, and after that the company for managing the construction of Buk Bijela will be formed,” said Mile Lakić, head of Hidroelektrane na Drini. He added the subsidiary’s stake in the investment will initially be in infrastructure, certain buildings and equipment, worth an estimated total of EUR 9 million.