Zaječar's heating plant put up for sale for 23.5m RSD - no joint venture with Czech "Moravia energo"

Czech company "Moravia energo" in bankruptcy, the majority owner of Zaječar's "Toplifikacija", put up all of its stocks for sale, so that the future buyer will get to run the remote heating system of Zaječar for about 23.5m EUR. There are indications that the city will purchase the stocks, but such decision has not been made yet.

"Jugopetrol" block the account of Zaječar's "Toplifikacija"- "Moravija Zaječar" AD, which provides remote heating services to local consumers since October 15, 2007, because of the debts of 73m RSD. Due to impossibility of further procurement of crude oil, Mayor Boško Ničić addressed the Directorate for Buffer Stock, which provided 1,000 tons of crude oil, enough for about 45 days of heating.

- In order to finish the heating season, we need another 800 tons of crude oil - says the Executive Director Nebojša Božinović.

"Moravia Zaječar" is a stock company, 51% of which belong to Czech company "Moravia energo", while the remaining stocks are owned by the city public utility company "Toplana" in liquidation.

When they were founding "Toplifikacija", the Czechs invested 600,000 EUR, while "Toplana" gave all of its property to form that stock company.

The company from Czech Republic, of which primary field of work is trade in electricity, went bankrupt at the end of year 2008. Its property is for sale ever since. Now they announced the sale of 4,700 stocks of Zaječar's "Toplifikacija" at the price of 5,000 RSD per stock in both Serbia and Czech Republic.

- We have the opportunity to buy the stocks at favorable price, and I think that would be a good move. The City Council will take this possibility in serious consideration and, if they decide that the city should become the majority owner, the proposal will be forwarded to the Assembly for adoption - says Ivan Joković, the President of the Town Hall.

The value of the property of Zaječar's "Toplifikacija" is estimated at 150m RSD. That company invested 80m RSD in construction of new boiler room and refurbishment of infrastructure.

- In order to finish the new boiler room of 32 MW, we need to invest another 1.3m EUR. Now we have about 4,000 users whose debts for heating services amount to total of 60m RSD, about 40% of which are owed by the economy and about 60% by the citizens - says Božinović.

The employees in that company have not received salaries over the last six months, but only two days of the heating season in Zaječar passed without remote heating.

Investment of the decade not to happen

Less than three years ago "the investment of the decade in Serbia" was announced - Czech "Moravia energo" was supposed to invest 70m EUR in construction of heating plant - steam power plant near Zaječar, in the vicinity of village Grljan. The city opposition then revolted and warned that the air will be polluted, while the municipal officials visited Czech Republic several times to agree the details of construction of this facility. The citizens were already applying for connection to that steam power plant, which, according to the story at that time, should have been finished this year.

(Note: complete text is taken over from newspaper "Blic" of January 12th, 2010)