March 28 (SeeNews) - Montenegro's power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) [MNG:EPCG] said it signed a contract worth 664,260 euro ($823,776) for the drafting of a preliminary design project for the reconstruction of Pljevlja thermal power plant (TPP) with Germany's Steag Energy Services.
The choice of Steag guarantees that the reconstruction of the Pljevlja TPP will be carried out in line with the latest standards and technologies, which will ensure its stable and safe operation in the next few decades, the executive director of EPCG, Igor Noveljic, said, as quoted in a statement by the company on Tuesday.
"We are confident that we will be a good partner of EPCG in a process that meets the requirements of Directive 2001/80 EC and 2010/75 EU," the executive director of EPCG, Urlich Siegel, said.
EPCG plans to invest a total of 40 million euro over the next three years in the modernisation of Pljevlja TPP. The project includes the construction of desulphurisation, nitrogen oxide reduction and wastewater systems and will allow the operation of the plant for at least another 20 years under the new directives on emission limit values for harmful substances, the company said.
In December, Montenegro's government said it plans to complete Pljevlja's modernisation by 2021 in order to avoid closure of the plant. The power plant has a utility life of 20,000 hours in the period between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2023, environment minister Pavle Radulovic said back then.
($ = 0.8064 euro)