SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina), August 17 (SeeNews) – The government of Bosnia's Federation said on Friday it decided to guarantee a 613.99 million euro ($700.0 million) loan from China's Ex-Im Bank, which Bosnian power utility Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBiH) will use to finance the construction of a new unit at Tuzla thermal power plant (TPP).
The loan covers 85% of total cost of the project for the construction of a 450 MW Unit 7 at the existing Tuzla TPP, which will be built by China's Gezhouba Group Company Limited and Gunagdong Electric Power Design Institute, the Federation government said in a statement following its weekly session.
The loan has a repayment period of 20 years, with a five-year grace.
In November 2016, EPBiH said it had signed a framework deal with Ex-Im Bank for the construction of the new unit at Tuzla TPP . According to Bosnian media reports, European Union credit institutions have declined to finance the project as it fails to meet the bloc's strict environmental requirements.
The Federation is one of two autonomous entities that form Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other one is the Serb Republic.
($=0.878483 euro)