Končar chosen to construct Vranduk hydro plant

Croatian company Končar – Power Plant and Electric Traction Engineering Inc. (Končar – Ket) signed a contract with public utility Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine dd in Sarajevo to build Vranduk hydroelectric power plant as part of consortium with Austrian Strabag AG, which dominates with a share of 63.4%.

The project is worth EUR 63 million. It would be the first new hydropower facility for Elektroprivreda BiH after the last war. The site is on the Bosna river in Zenica municipality.

The consortium has won an international tender. Končar will be responsible for the design, manufacturing and delivery of the electric equipment, with installation and initial operation. The shipment part will involve other Končar’s companies. The turbines will be designed in cooperation with an Austrian partner company Voith.

Preparation works were announced for the start of this year, while the construction of the facility is set to be launched in six months, after main projects are reviewed and building permits are received. The overall deadline is 46 months. Vranduk will have a capacity of 19.63 MW for the output of 96.38 GWh per year. Elektroprivreda said it financed 34 infrastructure projects in surrounding settlements with EUR 770,000.  The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank will fund the construction of the hydropower plant.