Eight Investors Continue in Race for Concessions on Small Hydro Power Plants in Montenegro

The eight eligible bidders can buy documents for the second stage of the tender as of November 25, the Economy Ministry said in a statement. The candidates, comprising companies and consortia, were approved in the prequalification phase, in which 14 investors took part.

The concessions will be granted the design, construction, operation and maintenance of hydro power plants with an installed capacity of up to 10 megawatts (MW) each in 10 locations across Montenegro.

The 10 locations covered by the tender have been divided into three so-called waterflow groups with each bidder barred from applying for more than two of them.

The ministry said it approved five offers for Savnicka waterflow group. They were filed by Austrian-Montenegrin consortium Kelag-Strabag, Slovenian-Montenegrin consortia mHidroCG and MAH, Austrian-Montenegrin-Bosnian consortium Haider Exterm Hydropower, and Montenegrin firm Kroling.

Austria’s Porr Technobau and Unwelt Aktiengesellschaft, and Montenegrin consortium Elektrotehna-Radius sent the two qualified offers for the Beranska watreflow group.

For Plavska waterflow group the five eligible bids came from mHidroCG, MAH, Haider Exterm Hydropower, Kroling and an Austrian-Montenegrin consortium ECG.

Montenegro currently has seven small hydro plants with a combined installed capacity of 8.92 MW and a combined output of some 21.4 gigawatthours of electricity annually.

The country, which has total installed power capacities of 868 MW, suffers constant power shortages and increases the volume of electricity imports every year. Almost two-thirds of its electricity output is produced by the two big hydro power stations, Perucica and Piva, and around one third is contributed by its sole thermal power plant TE Pljevlja.