Ombla tender
Plomin 3 tender
Wind energy project
At the end of 2010 the government approved 18 investment projects in the energy sector, worth a total of €3.85 billion. The key projects are the construction of the following facilities:
- Ombla underground hydroelectric power plant near Dubrovnik, worth €130 million; and
- Plomin 3 coal-based thermal power plant in Istria, worth €800 million.
For further details please see "Government approves new energy investment projects".
On January 14 2011 HEP dd, the Croatian national electricity utility, published its general procurement notice on its website. According to the notice, the project will be mostly financed by the loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and it will require, among other things:
- preparation works;
- construction works;
- supply of goods and equipment;
- monitoring systems;
- staff training; and
- consulting services.
The project requires construction and geotechnical specialists, since most of the power plan structures will be underground. The public tender for the aforementioned works is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2011. It will be an international tender, open to companies from any country, subject to the EBRD Procurement Policies and Rules.
Croatian construction and manufacturing companies - including Ingra dd, Koncar Group, Konstruktor dd and Djuro Djakovic Holding dd - have already publicly announced their interest in participating in the public tender.
HEP dd is also seeking a joint venture partner interested in financing the construction of the Plomin 3 coal-based power plant.
Although it was initially expected that the public tender for the Plomin 3 project would be announced at the beginning of 2011 at the latest, due to administrative procedures the tender will not be launched before May 2011. This is partly due to the delay in completion of the environmental impact study that must be approved by the ministry before the tender takes place, in an administrative proceeding prescribed by the law. The ministry is evaluating the study and the proceeding should be finalised within a couple of months.
Along with that of the Ombla project, the Plomin 3 public tender is expected to attract a number of domestic and international investors.
In the Strategy of Energy Development (Official Gazette 130/09), the government has undertaken to enhance energy efficiency and to use alternative energy resources and technologies that protect the environment. As a result, the government has recently supported a wind energy project for the construction of a wind power plant on Pometeno Brdo, near Split in the south of the country. The Pometeno Brdo wind park will comprise 15 power generators with a capacity of 1 megawatt (MW) each and one 2.5 MW generator. The investment is worth approximately €35 million and the investor is a Croatian company, Koncar Group.
The government gives support to all potential foreign or domestic investors and new alternative energy projects in Croatia.
For further information on this topic please contact Miroljub Maćešić or Ivana Manovelo at Law Offices Maćešić & Partners by telephone (+385 51 215 010), fax (+385 51 215 030) or email ([email protected] or [email protected]).