Serbia urges China's CMEC to speed up works on Kostolac B power plant

The slow pace of development of the project and the low quality of delivered equipment are unacceptable, energy minister Zorana Mihajlovic said on Thursday during a meeting with CMEC representatives in Belgrade, according to a statement by the ministry.

"The current dynamics and delays of the Kostolac B project are not in anyone's best interest," Mihajlovic said at the meeting.

CMEC will step up efforts to meet the agreed deadlines and will complete the construction of the unit by the fall of 2022, the general manager of the Serbian unit of the Chinese company, Ren Kailong, said.

In March 2020, Serbia's economy ministry said CMEC is delaying the implementation of projects in Serbia due to supply problems caused by the coronavirus outbreak. CMEC is implementing a $715.6 million (601 million euro) project for the modernisation of Kostolac B coal-fired power plant in Serbia, including the construction of a 350 MW unit which will produce 2.5 billion kWh of electricity annually.

($ = 0.8401 euro)