Andritz VA Tech Hydro has been awarded a contract by power utility Elektroprivreda Serbia to modernise and uprate the strategic Bajina Basta hydroelectric plant.
The contract calls for complete modernisation of all electro-mechanical equipment and increasing the installed capacity of each of the plants four units by just over 13% to 108MW. Following the work on the plant capacity will be 50MW higher at 432MW.
In a statement, Andritz said the contract was valued at approximately Euro65M (US$96.3M).
The Bajina Basta plant is on the river Drina in Serbia. Work onsite is programmed to commence mid-2009 for completion by the end of 2012. Following the works, reliable plant operation would be secure for another 30 years, said Andritz.
Two years ago the German bank DfW provided a loan of US$36M (2005 currencies) for the reconstruction of the 382MW Bajina Basta plant. The loan had a five-year grace period and then is repayable over 15 years.