Company Hidroelektrane na Vrbasu (HEV) AD Mrkonjić Grad, hydroelectric facilities operator from the west of the Republic of Srpska entity, signed a BAM 16.53 million (EUR 8.45 million) contract with Integral inženjering DOO from nearby Laktaši on July 20 for construction works in the project of small hydropower plant Bočac 2. The deadline for the completion is two years and machines were already operating at the site, according to Glas Srpske newspaper’s portal.
Nedeljko Kesić, head of HEV, said the initiative for the SHPP dates back to 2006, Mrkonjić Grad’s municipal website reported. With help from local authority and with understanding from the government of the republic, all obstacles were successfully overcome, resulting in SHPP Bočac 2 being constructed, he added and announced the start of hydropower plant project Krupa 2018 in two years.
Slobodan Stanković, Integral inženjering’s general manager, stated he hopes the works would be finish before the set deadline, and that the concern is that big rains could make the lake accumulate large quantities of water and block construction activity. There is little room to manoeuvre as the construction site is next to the regional road and the river, he underscored.
HEV signed a concession contract with the entity’s government in May last year. The company is financing the project with its own funds. The SHPP is projected to generate 41.6 GWh per year with a maximum capacity of 8.76 MW. It will be built on the Bočac 1 hydroelectric plant’s compensation lake, 7.3 kilometers downstream on Vrbas river. Andritz Hydro will mount the turbines and other equipment.
