The first two contracts for Podveležje wind farm construction on a plateau near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), have been signed. This is the official beginning of the wind farm construction, which has been announced over past eight years.

Mayor Ljubo Bešlić has signed the contract for the reconstruction of local roads in Podveležje on behalf of the city of Mostar as an investor, reads a press release on the official website of the local government. The reconstruction of local roads will be performed by the companies HP Investing and Amitea, both from Mostar. On their behalf, the contract was signed by Hasan Pekušić, the CEO of HP Investing.

The contract for the construction of access and service roads and assembly crane platforms was signed by the CEO of the state-owned Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBiH) Bajazit Jašarević. The selected contractor is a consortium consisting of the companies HP Investing, Amitea and Izgradnja Tojaga.

The contract for the reconstruction of local roads is worth EUR 607,000 and the works have to be completed in the next ten months. The contract for the access and service roads and assembly crane platforms construction is worth EUR 2.69 million.

“We have been announcing this project for eight years. We wish Mostar and the region to improve living conditions and people to get jobs through such projects because it is the only way we can see the perspective and sustainable development. Sustainable development is impossible without investment and support from the higher levels of government,” said the mayor of Mostar Ljubo Bešlić, BiH media reported.

“This is the second meeting with the mayor to discuss investments in Mostar. We are aware of the lack of investments. The first ones should start through the state-owned enterprises in order to revive the economy. This is a small sum, but this is the beginning of the construction of the first wind farm  in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said BiH Prime Minister Fadil Novalić who attended the signing of the contracts.

Podveležje wind farm will have a capacity of 48 MW, and its projected annual production is 120 GWh. EPBIH launched a tender for a substation and cabling in December 2016.

The total investment is worth EUR 83.2 million. EPBiH invests EUR 17,8 million of its own money, while the rest of the money will be provided from the EUR 65 million loan approved by German Development Bank KfW.