The European Commission has announced a EUR3.2Billion investment package to support 21 transport, climate, and energy connectivity projects across the Western Balkans. Five projects are in the clean energy sector and two in environment and climate. The total investment package is EUR 339 million.
It is the first major package of projects under the European Union’s ambitious Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, adopted in October 2020, the commission said. The Green Agenda Action Plan was agreed upon by the countries in the region to allow them to access the funds.
The financial package includes EUR 1.1 billion in EU grants through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III), additional bilateral contributions by EU member states and Norway, as well as favorable loans from international finance institutions. The EUR3.2 billion investment package is being channeled via the Western Balkans Investment Framework. This multi-donor EU investment platform and primary vehicle for implementing and financing the Economic and Investment Plan, in the areas public infrastructure and competitiveness of the private sector, is EU-led.
The total project cost of the five clean energy sector projects approved in 2022 amounts to more than EUR 127 millions. These are the projects.
- Vau i Dejs Floating Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant
- Oslomej 1 Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant
- Oslomej 2 & Bitola Photovoltaic Power Plants
- Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor: Serbia – Montenegro – BiH 400 kV Interconnection
- Advanced System for Remote Meter reading.
The Vau i Dejs Floating Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant project aims to install a 12.9 MW facility near one of the largest hydropower plant in Albania. It will be the medium-sized hybrid floating hydropower and floating solar plant, and the first application pure floats technology to the Western Balkans.
North Macedonia will be able to receive assistance to install three photovoltaic plants. Oslomej 1, Oslomej 2, and Bitola will be built on the site of an abandoned coal mine in Oslomej and adjacent to the Bitola co-fired plant.
The fourth project is a segment of Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor. This corridor will enable a functional regional marketplace. The corridor will connect the electricity transmission networks of Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina to Croatia and Hungary, Romania, and Italy. The funds were approved to fund a 400 kV interconnection of Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 84km double overhead transmission line will be built from Bajina Bata, Serbia, to the borders of Montenegro and BiH.
The Advanced System for Remote Meter Reading (Serbia) will facilitate the introduction of smart meters in the electricity distribution system. The grant will be used in the first phase for smart meter deployment in Kraljevo (aak) and Ni, according to the commission.
The only projects in the environment and climate sectors included in this package are for wastewater treatment at Podgorica or Skopje.
The Podgorica Wastewater treatment plant will ensure that wastewater generated in Montenegrin capital is collected and treated in accordance with EU standards. A similar facility will be located in the capital of North Macedonia and will serve nine of the ten localities in the city. It will have a capacity to handle 625,000 inhabitants.
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