New unit of Kostolac coal-fired power plant turned over to EPS

KOSTOLAC - A new unit of Serbia's Kostolac coal-fired power plant was officially turned over by the China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) to Serbia's national power company EPS on Friday.

EPS Director General Dusan Zivkovic received a certificate of turnover from CMEC President Fang Yanshui and the two also signed a contract on management of the unit.

The ceremony was also attended by Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic and Chinese Ambassador to Belgrade Li Ming.

As Serbia's first new power generation facility in three decades, Unit B3 adds 350 MW of generation capacity, further boosting the country's energy security.

The unit has a net efficiency of 37.3 pct and meets all national and European environmental protection standards.

The 715.6 mln dollar Kostolac project was carried out under a Serbia-China agreement on economic and technical cooperation in infrastructure.

As the most modern unit in the EPS production portfolio, Unit B3 will generate 2.2-2.5 bln KWh of electricity a year.

An agreement to build the unit and expand the output of the Drmno open-pit coal mine from nine to 12 mln t of coal a year was signed in November 2013 and the cornerstone for the unit was laid in 2017.