PODGORICA (Montenegro), September 12 (SeeNews) – Montenegrin power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) has said its shareholders have approved the conclusion of a contract with Czech company Skoda Praha for the construction of a second unit of thermal power plant Pljevlja for 324.5 million euro ($363.9 million).
The shareholders have also adopted a feasibility study which foresees the construction of a 254 MW facility with net electric efficiency of 39.5%, EPCG said in a statement late on Friday.
The investor will provide from its own funds up to 30% of the financing needed for the construction, while up to 85% should come from financial institutions secured by Skoda Praha, according to the statement.
If no deals with the financial institutions proposed by Skoda Praha can be reached, then the investor will have to secure funds, from its own sources or a loan, for the remaining up to 85%, EPCG explained.
In May last year, EPCG said that Skoda Praha had filed the most favourable bid for the construction project, offering to build the facility for 338.5 million euro.
The Montenegrin government is the majority owner of EPCG with a 57% stake. Italian company A2A owns 41.75%.
The Montenegrin government and A2A signed a new shareholders agreement last month to extend the joint management of EPCG until December 31, 2016.
The new agreement fully protects the interests of the government, particularly in regard to the construction of the second unit of thermal power plant Pljevlja, which will be implemented by EPCG without government guarantees, the economy ministry noted at the time.
EPCG and A2A have been signing short-term managing agreements since April 2015, when their five-year deal expired.
EPCG, which operates around 870 MW of installed capacity, plans a 5.8% decline in output to 2,976 GWh this year. The company's net profit dropped 69% to 10.8 million euro in 2015.
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