October 7 (SeeNews) - A joint venture comprising steelmaker ArcelorMittal Zenica, the Bosnian city of Zenica, and Finnish companies KPA Unicon and Finnfund has started preparation works for the planned construction of a new combined heat and power (CHP) plant, local media reported.
The project is waiting for a building permit, which should be issued in the next 15-20 days, news portal Zenicainfo.ba reported on Friday, citing Zenica's mayor Fuad Kasumovic.
The CHP plant, Toplana Zenica, is worth 53 million euro ($58.1 million), and will be co-financed by a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the report said. Its commissioning is planned for next year.
The EBRD said in March it will provide a 46 million euro loan towards the project, helping the city of Zenica to replace its existing polluting coal-fired power plant with the new Toplana Zenica.
Once the project is completed, ArcelorMittal Zenica will hold a 50% stake at the CPH, the city of Zenica will hold 20%, while KPA Unicorn and FinnFund will each own 15% stake, according to the Zenicainfo.ba report.
Toplana Zenica will supply electricity to Zenica and the city's biggest employer - the ArcelorMittal steel mill.
Zenica, a city in central Bosnia of some 160,000 inhabitants, is part of EBRD's Green Cities programme, which aims at building a better future for cities and their residents.
($ = 0.912076 euro)