04.09.2021.

N. Macedonia launches 50 mln euro power interconnection project with Albania

North Macedonia’s government said it has started the construction of a 400/110 kilovolt (kV) power substation near the city of Ohrid, the first step in a power interconnection project with neighbouring Albania worth 50 million euro ($59 million).
 
Croatia’s Koncar Elektroindustrija is building the power substation under an agreement signed in January 2020, Kushtrim Ramadani, director of North Macedonia’s transmission system operator MEPSO, said in a statement by the government on Sunday.
 
The agreement for the construction of the power substation is worth 14.3 million euro, according to an earlier statement by Koncar.
 
The project will also involve building a 400 kV transmission line connecting North Macedonia’s Bitola to Albania’s Elbasan. It is expected to be completed in 2023.
 
MEPSO signed a deal with Bosnia’s Energoinvest for the construction of the transmission line in February 2020.
 
The whole project is backed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which is extending a 37 million euro loan, and Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), which is providing a grant of 12 million euro, Ramadani said. The remaining part is financed by MEPSO.
 
North Macedonia has interconnections at the 400 kV level with Greece, Serbia, Kosovo and Bulgaria. (SeeNews)