May 29 (SeeNews) - Serbia is investing 450 million euro ($487.5 million) in new equipment at the Kolubara coal mine in order to increase its production capacity, the energy ministry said.
The investment also involves the launch of replacement production capacities to enable the exploitation of coal from surface mines, as well as the construction of two excavators and supporting systems at Kolubara mine, the energy ministry said in a press release on Tuesday.
The launch of the new systems will result in a further 16 to 19 million cubic metres of coal annually, energy minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic was quoted as saying.
This year coal production at the Kolubara level is 3% higher year-on-year, she added.
The Kolubara mining complex accounts for 70% of Serbia's lignite output, according to the website of state-owned energy producer Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS).
($ = 0.9230 euro)