ECIKS - Archives of news from Kosovar economy and business

Prishtinë, Apr 19, 2006 - World Bank and the EAR representatives said that the plan on building a new power plant in Kosovo with a production capacity up to 2000 MW/h, will be completed during this month. The deep energy crisis in Kosovo made international and local authorities think seriously about building a new power plant in Kosovo.

Kanthan Shankar, Representative of the World Bank (WB) and Thierry Bernard-Guele, European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) Head of Centre in Pristina, explained that Kosovo should not get a loan for building the new power plant, but suggested to finance it through private investments. They said the construction of this power plant would be conducted in accordance with international standards for environmental protection.

“We feel that you have very valuable resources and we feel that there is a great demand for energy in the region. We consider that the private sector will be able to invest in this sector in Kosovo,” said Shankar.

“Kosovo’s objective now is to create conditions to attract foreign investors in Kosovo, but at the same time to help the Government to understand what the priorities are and what is being offered. We know that there is a possibility for Kosovo to become a supplier of the energy in the region, but we should be careful and know how to achieve this. Kosovo will have the opportunity for this and it will take it or lose it” said Bernard-Guele.

Approximately € 1 billion is the foreseen amount for building this new power plant in Kosovo.

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