Greeks want to produce electricity grom algae in Leskovac - Algae Energy plans to invest EUR 75 million

Greece's Algae Energy intends to invest EUR 75 million in the production of energy from an alternative source - algae, which would be grown in Leskovac, and hire more than 4,000 workers for that purpose, company's co-owner Joanis Sporidis-Antoniadis said Thursday.

After signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Leskovac Mayor Goran Cvetanovic, he told the press that he was interested in getting a square kilometer of land in Green Zone.

Two years ago Leskovac designated 100 hectares of agricultural land for Green Zone. The plan is to build food production facilities and a distribution center for fruits and vegetables for the south of Serbia on that area.

- In two and a half years we will invest about EUR 75 million and gradually employ over 4,000 people. We will start with one hectare and hire 50 workers for each new hectare under algae - our intention is to stay here for tens of years - Sporidis-Antoniadis said and added that the company he represented operated in central Europe and Africa.

Leskovac Mayor Cvetanovic noted that the Greek company was willing to start the business in the summer 2013, but he was not sure whether the local self-government was able to meet its part of obligations.

- About 100 million dinars are required to change the purpose of agricultural land so it could be used as building land, and we don't have that money - he stressed.

Sporidis-Antoniadis and his partner from Greece won a EUR 80,000 prize in 2012 from the Greek-American Chamber of Commerce in Athens for their innovative idea of producing energy from algae.