Bosnia’s Serb Republic accepted a letter of interest from the London-based energy group EFT to build a 250-million-euro coal-fired power plant in northwestern Bosnia, the government said late on Thursday. The plant, to have a capacity of 200 megawatts, will be based near the EFT-controlled lignite mine Stanari and use its coal, the Serb Republic’s government said in a statement published on its website. “The total pre-estimated value of the project is around 250 million euros, but taking into account the need for an additional capacity upgrade in the Stanari mine, we can say the total investment will be between 320 and 350 million euros,” Bosnian-Serb Economy, Energy and Development Minister Miladin Gligoric was quoted as saying.
The project, expected to be launched next year, will create between 400 and 500 jobs, the government said. EFT Group and the state-owned Rudnik Lignita Stanari formed a 76:24 joint venture last year as part of a rehabilitation plan for the mine.