December 29 (SeeNews) - Chinese company CMEC is expected to break ground for a 350 MW unit at Serbian coal miner and power producer TE-KO Kostolac in the spring, Belgrade-based media reported.
Preparatory works for the construction of the new unit, B3, have already begun, news daily Novosti reported on Monday, quoting the executive director of Serbian state-owned power utility EPS Dragan Jovanovic.
Jovanovic also said that local workers are expected to be hired for the construction works.
In November 2013 Serbia signed a deal with China's CMEC for the construction of a new 350 MW unit at TE-KO Kostolac. The new unit should go on stream in 2019, the Serbian government said at the time. The addition of the new unit will cost $715.6 million (667 million euro) and the funds for its implementation will be provided under a soft-term Chinese loan backed with guarantees extended by the Serbian government, it added.
TE-KO Kostolac, located in eastern Serbia, has an installed power generation capacity of around 1,000 MW.
($=0.91 euro)