The aim of the assignment is to determine the spatial, ecological, social, financial, market and economic viability of the planned hydropower system, according to the Spatial Plan of Special Purpose Areas of 2012. The documentation is designed to create a foundation for the utilization of the hydropower potential of the Ibar, with the appropriate development and protection of the river as a water, energy, traffic, cultural and tourist corridor, in order to create preconditions for the realization of national development goals, it said. The results of the studies will enable a decision on the continuation of the project, EPS added, with the prepared documentation intended to serve as the technical basis for launching a tender for the selection of contractors. Construction should be financed with loans from international financial institutions, according to the tender notice.
The Ibar is host to one of the most significant untapped hydropower potentials in Serbia, according to EPS. EPS first unveiled plans to develop the river’s hydropower potential in 2010 with the formation of a joint venture with Italy’s Seci Energia, a subsidiary of the Maccaferri Group, to design, build and operate a series of plants, with a combined capacity of 103 MW at a cost of around €300 million. The project, which was to have been supported by the Government of Italy, was due to start in 2012 but collapsed following changes of governments in both Italy and Serbia and a change in Italy’s foreign investment policy, that led to the subsequent expiry of the inter-state agreement.
Tender documentation is available upon registration at https://jnportal.ujn.gov.rs/tender-eo/142705. For further information contact: Veljko Kovacevic -Tel.: +381 0648333986; Mira Paljic – +381 0648333145 and/or Vladimir Kamenica -+381 0648360562; E-mail: epsjn@eps.rs.
