Sarajevo Canton to build its own pellet factory to reduce air pollution

The Government of Sarajevo Canton and state-owned forest management firm Sarajevo-Šume plan to build a pellet factory by the end of the year to provide cleaner fuel for heating to citizens and reduce air pollution.

The initiative is part of the Sarajevo Canton’s efforts to make air in the city less polluted, which is one of its biggest problems. The authorities have made several moves in recent months to solve it, such as subsidies for citizens to abandon coal in heating and an analysis of the geothermal potential for heating.

It is expected the Government of Sarajevo Canton will approve the decision to start preparation of a feasibility study for the construction of a pellet factory, and if it happens, the Ministry of Economy and Sarajevo-Šume would start preparatory activities.

Minister of Economy Adnan Delić said the ministry intends to establish a factory for the production of pellets by the end of the year. In order to gain more knowledge on the issue, representatives of the local government and Sarajevo-Šume have visited the company Kovan M. I. based in Gračanica, near the city of Doboj, which also has a pellet factory in Olovo.

The government wants to offer the citizens the highest quality pellets at more suitable prices

Delić pointed out that the plan is to open a top-of-the-line, fully automated pellet factory in the Sarajevo canton, in order to produce fuel from wood, a high-quality resource which is abundant in the area.

The time has come for the Sarajevo Canton to finally build a pellet factory in order to offer the citizens the highest quality pellets at more suitable prices, Delić said.

The company Kovan M. I. offers the construction of a pellet factory that is completely “made in BiH”

Samir Omerović, director of Sarajevo-Šume, said the Sarajevo Canton has enough resources, but also the need to start producing pellets, arguing it is necessary to improve air quality in Sarajevo.

Kovan M. I. is the only plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina that offered to build a pellet factory on a turnkey basis. The entire product is “made in BiH” so the realization of the project will be completely based on domestic resources, Delić stressed.