Serbian member of the BiH Presidency Milorad Dodik sad last week that the Republic of Srpska (RS) will takeover the two projects for which Russian Comsar Energy has previously obtained concessions.
This includes coal-fired thermal power plant Ugljevik 3 and hydropower plant Mrsovo. It has been speculated for quite some time that the Russian company will withdraw from these projects and that the projects will be taken over by the state.
Dodik said that in the coming months, in cooperation with auditor Deloitte, it would be determined how much Comsar Energy has invested in these projects so far, in order to formally sign an agreement on the takeover. He added that the state will have no problems finding new partners for these projects.
According to previous estimates by Comsar Energy, the two concessions were worth around 90 million euros.
The joint venture agreement for construction of TPP Ugljevik 3 was signed in July 2011 by the RS Government and Comsar Energy. Comsar Energy is obliged to invest 90 % of the funds, while the coalmine and TPP (RiTE) Ugljevik should invest 10 % of the necessary funds. The government will hold 10 % stake in the joint venture company, by investing the land and existing infrastructure at the site of TPP Ugljevik, while CE will own 90 % stake. TPP Ugljevik 3 would export its entire output to foreign markets and it will not be competitor to local power utility ERS. The construction of the plant has not started yet.
In 2018, Russian company asked RS Government to extend the concession granted for the construction of TPP Ugljevik 3 for an additional 15 year or the company will give up the investment. The request includes the extension of the concession period from 30 to 45 years, because the current concession period of 30 years is deemed unprofitable due to lower electricity prices. At the same time, Comsar Energy requested to reduce the power output of the future plant from 600 to 350 MW. However, in early 2020, Comsar Energy requested that the installed capacity should be increased to 700 MW.
In early 2021, RS Government once again met the request of Comsar Energy and extended the deadline for the construction and usage of coal- fired thermal power plant Ugljevik 3 to 44 years. Previously, Comsar Energy requested for its concession to be extended from 30 to 45 years.
