Now is the right moment for the government to take a bolder step and implement the Čebren and Galište project as an investor, according to Prime Minister of North Macedonia Hristijan Mickoski.
For decades, the country has been unsuccessfully attempting to build the Čebren pumped storage hydropower plant on the Crna Reka river. The facility would be part of a larger hydropower system alongside another new hydropower plant (HPP), called Galište, and the existing Tikveš HPP (113 MW).
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski has now revealed that there are financial institutions willing to finance this project, including the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
If everything goes according to plan, the cornerstone could be laid next year, he added.
Mickoski: I believe we have financial institutions ready to finance this project
“I believe we have financial institutions ready to finance this project, including DFC, which currently manages a financial portfolio exceeding USD 220 billion,” he stressed.
The prime minister pointed out that during a recent visit to the US, they discussed the matter with Caroline Vik, who is in charge of development projects at DFC. He noted that the US institution is already involved, through a USD 5 million grant, in the Krstov Dol antimony mine development project in North Macedonia.
According to the government’s calculations, the project’s internal rate of return is in double digits, in Mickoski’s words.
He said that this is a project that will span the mandates of multiple governments, as a single government cannot both start and complete it.
The materialization of this project will have several effects
The materialization of this project will have several effects, according to the prime minister. It is beneficial for the energy system as it will serve as excellent energy storage.
Considering climate change, the country will have access to additional water reserves that are currently not available. They can be used for many purposes, including the irrigation of the Tikveš valley.
The United Kingdom was also previously mentioned as a potential financier of the project. Of note, the US is also involved in the construction of pumped storage hydropower plant Đerdap 3 in Serbia.
