€60m for rehabilitation of 20 heating plants − Serbian companies invited to bid

Managers of the Serbian heating plant modernisation project have invited domestic contractors and equipment manufacturers to take part in tenders for these large scale works. In the fourth phase of “Rehabilitation of the district heating system in Serbia – phase 4”, 20 heating plants will be modernised with an aggregate project value of about €60 million. The web site of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce shows that approximately 30 tenders are planned, and the modernisation of the heating plants should be completed by the end of 2015.

“Domestic companies should take part in these tenders more than they have done until now, as they can acquire a lot of work” said project advisor Tatjana Vrtunic-Stojanovic at a programme promotion event.

The promotion was organised by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection. The project forms part of the financial cooperation between Serbia and Germany, with the German government and German development bank (KfW) as implementing partners.

The overall programme value is about €123 million, out of which €65 million was spent in first three programme phases, with 6 heating plants modernised in the third phase alone. Ms Vrtunic-Stojanovic said that a further 20 plants will be modernised all over Serbia, representing 70% of the overall district heating system, and that this will have a positive impact on Serbia`s entire energy system.

She pointed out that the participation conditions are the same for domestic and foreign companies, even though the project is financed from the German development bank loan. She also said that until now, 46% of the companies engaged were domestic, and 30% of the equipment installed in the modernised heating plants was made in Serbia.

The project aims to increase the energy efficiency of the plants, improving both citizens` living standards and environmental protection. When the project is completed the savings will amount to €2 million, energy efficiency will be increased by 12% and carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 10,000 tonnes.

Assistant Minister for Energy, Development and Environmental Protection Dejan Trifunovic said that many domestic contractors and equipment manufacturers could be engaged in this and other energy-related projects such as the South Stream gas pipeline and construction of the thermal heating plant Kostolac B-3. This also applies to construction of mini hydropower plants for which another public call is expected soon.

At the opening of the event, Milivoje Miletic, an advisor to the President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, gave a positive evaluation of this and of the news of the participation of domestic companies which until now have been neglected compared to foreign ones.

The chief project consultant Norbert Pec spoke of the tenders for rehabilitation of the district heating system, especially inviting Serbian companies to participate. “The idea of a tender is to find the most advantageous bidder”, said Mr. Pec.

The event was moderated by the Secretary of the Association of metal and electro industry of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Ljubisa Obradovic.

Translation provided by: www.halifax-translation.com