The Government of Srpska gave the Chinese projects worth over 1.6 billion KM

 

According to CAPITAL's knowledge, the Chinese are again interested in the construction of the "Gacko 2" thermal power plant, a project that was announced more than ten years ago, and which has since fallen into oblivion.

However, this story is being updated again, and the fact that "Elektroprivreda RS" recently founded the company "Termoelektrana Gacko, razvoj i investicija" speaks for itself.

This company should prepare project documentation and secure an environmental permit for the construction of the Thermal Power Plant "Gacko 2".

The acting director of this company, Igor Milojević, told CAPITAL that the task of this company is to provide project documentation in order to be able to move towards an environmental permit.

He says that the citizens of Gack complain about the poor air quality and that it is necessary to find a solution.

"The solution is for people to live in a healthier environment and, on the other hand, to keep jobs. The newly founded company, which I am at the head of, needs to complete the project documentation. "We will not build, but we hope that interested parties will appear for that work as well," Milojević said.

He says that they have already talked to people who are ready to build a new block that would have a power of 350 megawatts.

"It is about a Chinese-Czech corporation that would carry out the works and they guarantee that they can finish them in four years. If we manage to get an environmental permit, it would be a big green light to go ahead with the implementation," said Milojević.

However, the Center for the Environment of Banjaluka states that this project does not make sense, especially if we consider the obligations that BiH has taken upon itself, which are related to the shutdown of thermal power plants.

 

""Gacko 2" is a project that brings us a new phantom investor every year, whose name appears in public, only to be forgotten by everyone after two weeks. If that project had any meaning, it would have been finished a long time ago. However, it has neither been started nor does it make sense to start it, because the existing plant is also operating negatively. In addition, the draft of the National Energy Climate Plan (NECP) was recently published, in which it is clearly stated that certain blocks of various thermal power plants in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be slowly shut down, which is natural.

 

NECP announces thousands of megawatts of installed capacity from RES and that is the direction we should move in," says Dragan Ostić from the Center for the Environment.

We remind you that back in 2017, the Government of Republika Srpska also cooperated with Chinese companies "China Africa Investment and Development Co." "and "China Machinery Engineering Corporation" signed the Cooperation Agreement on the implementation of this project.

The plan at the time was to build a facility worth one billion marks with an installed capacity of around 300 megawatts.

In addition to this story, the story about the construction of the Banjaluka - Mliništa highway also remained unfinished.

In 2014, RS Highways signed a preliminary construction agreement with the Chinese state company "Sinohydro Corporation Limited".

A commercial contract was also signed, and everything was to be financed by the Chinese "Exim Bank". However, apart from the feasibility study, little has been done to begin implementation.

 

Especially interested in the electrical sector of RS

In general, companies from China are currently building the "Dabar" and "Bistrica" hydropower plants, the Banjaluka - Prijedor and Brčko - Bijeljina highways, as well as the hospital in Doboj.

These projects are worth over one billion marks, and new ones are also being prepared for which, given the long-term ties and cooperation, Chinese contractors will undoubtedly be the favorites.

After being postponed several times, at the end of June this year, the construction of the 160 megawatt "Dabar" hydropower plant began.

 

It is a project worth 222.4 million euros that was contracted with the Chinese company "Gezuba Group".

 

The construction of HPP is financed by the Export-Import Bank of China, based on guarantees from the Republic of Srpska.

 

The general director of "Elektroprivreda RS" Luka Petrović said earlier that the deadline for completing the works is 46 months.

 

HPP "Dabar" belongs to the designed hydropower system of HET and is the most important hydropower plant in the "Gornji horizonti" system. With the completion of HPP "Dabar" and HPP "Bileća" from the system "Gornji horizonti", it is planned to double the existing balance of HET.

In addition to HPP "Dabar", Chinese companies are also building the hydropower plant "Bistrica" in Foča.

The foundation stone for the start of construction works on the construction of hydroelectric power plants on the Bistrica River was laid on December 27, 2021, in the presence of the Prime Minister of the RS Radovan Višković and the Minister of Energy and Mining of the RS Petr Đokić, without the necessary construction and environmental permits, as well as without money for construction.

The construction of the energy system of the Bistrica hydroelectric power plant, which will consist of three power plants, will cost a total of 102 million euros, and the money for the construction should be provided by the investor, Hidroelektrane Bistrica, which is majority owned by Hidroelektrana na Drina, or Elektroprivreda Republika Srpska (RS).

HPP on the Drina as an investor had a lot of problems to secure money for that project, and that issue is still one of the big problems that can be seen at the Shareholders' Assemblies of this company.

Namely, at the last Assembly of shareholders of HPP on the Drina, which was held at the end of July, some shareholders had objections to the large allocations of this company for the recapitalization of the HPP "Bistrica", stating that this is financially draining the HPP on the Drina.

The penetration of Chinese companies into the energy sector of Srpska does not stop here.

Namely, according to information from CAPITAL, they are also interested in the construction of HPP "Buk Bijela".

According to our information, "Buk Bijelu", a project worth 250 million euros, should be built by one of three companies from China.

It is a joint venture of "Elektroprivreda Republika Srpska" and "Elektroprivreda Srbije" and is part of the Upper Drina hydropower system project, which, in addition to this one, envisages the construction of two more hydropower plants.

The complete project will be financed in the ratio of 51 percent "Elektroprivreda Srbije", 49 percent "Elektroprivreda Republika Srpska", which is the share of co-ownership in the joint company "HEP Gornja Drina".

However, due to numerous disputes at the BiH level, the whole story stands for now.

 

The Chinese are building two highways

In addition to the energy sector, Chinese companies also got lucrative jobs in the transport sector, where they are currently building two highways, Banjaluka - Prijedor and Brčko - Bijeljina.

The construction of the concession highway from Banja Luka to Prijedor started in September last year, and it was estimated that this project will cost 297 million euros. The Prijedor - Banjaluka highway will be 40.7 kilometers long with access loops in Prijedor, Omarska and Kuljani near Banjaluka.

The term for construction is five years. The contract with the Chinese company "Shandong Hi-Speed International (SDHS)" was signed back in 2018, and that company provided money for the construction, which they will pay back through tolls, which they will charge for a full 30 years.

The company "Shandong Hi-Speed International (SDHS)" stated earlier that the speed of highway construction will depend on land expropriation.

This highway has been in the public's focus for years because of the contract that the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the RS persistently hides and refuses to make public despite court rulings obliging it to do so.

At the beginning of this year, a group of Chinese companies headed by China Overseas Engineering Group Co was chosen as the most favorable tender for the financing, design and construction of the Brčko - Bijeljina highway section. The project is worth 345 million KM.

Also, since 2019, the Chinese company "China Sinopharm International Corporation" is building a hospital in Doboj.

Its initial value was 103.5 million marks, but as works appear that are not foreseen in the basic contract and the value of this project increases, it is estimated that the citizens of Republika Srpska this health facility will cost over 120 million marks.

The first deadline for completion expired last year, the second was at the end of September this year, but it will not be met either.

 

 

Mutual sympathy

According to everything seen, companies from China will not change their course in the coming years and raise anchor from Republika Srpska.

The fact that the European representative office of the "China Railway Engineering Corporation" (China Railway Engineering Corporation) is planning to move from Warsaw to Banja Luka shows how interesting Serbia is to them.

Representatives of this company previously said that Srpska has great potential in which they saw their business opportunity.

On the other hand, even the authorities in the Republika Srpska do not hide their sympathy for this country.

As we recently discovered, the Government of the Republika Srpska made a decision to establish a representative office in the most populous country in the world, and the Minister for European Integration and International Cooperation Zlatan Klokić said that there is a socio-economic justification for this.

Prime Minister Radovan Višković recently visited China, during which he said that projects worth two billion marks with its companies are in the phase of negotiation and implementation.

Also, what suits the Chinese is that the control authorities do not bother them too much.

In five years, republican inspectors controlled only one Chinese company in Srpska, and to make the miracle bigger, they were controlled by labor and occupational safety inspectors, who found the absence of an Act on risk assessment for workplaces as the only deficiency.

In addition to transport and energy, Chinese businessmen have also shown interest in wood processing.

At least three sawmills in the area of Brčko and Pelagićevo have been leased by Chinese citizens, where they cut wood and pack it into containers for further export, that is, to send it to the home country.

In order to avoid the ban on the export of logs, which has been in force in Bosnia and Herzegovina since June last year, they carry out the minimum processing necessary to obtain proper documentation.

Chinese companies in Srpska did not only work for the Government and its companies. They gave credit to the largest electricity trader in the region, Vuk Hamović, and then built a thermal power plant in Stanari.

 

The power plant was built by the company "Dongfang Electric International Corporation" (DEC), which will also build its solar power plant in Bileća worth 43.5 million euros.