The environmental reconstruction of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant will not be fully completed by November 15, 2025, but that deadline will be extended until mid-2026, and the final certificate of handover of the plant is planned for June 2028. Works that affect the restart of production should be completed by November 15.
This is stated in Annex III of the Contract that the state-owned energy company Elektroprivreda (EPCG) signed with the contractor, the Chinese DEC International with partners Bemax, BB Solar and Permonte in February this year. "Vijesti" has access to this document.
According to the annex, the amount of contracted works has been increased from 45 million to 47,8 million due to additional works, while the new figure with VAT is 57,8 million euros. The additional works are worth 3,44 million euros with VAT.
The thermal power plant was shut down on April 1st, and is scheduled to be put into operation on November 15th.
Deadlines and Plan “B”
The Ministry of Energy reported to the Government about the problems in the implementation of this project at the end of September. The Ministry's information states that EPCG has asked the contractor to eliminate all shortcomings and delays and to report on them by September 25th, and if the delay is not eliminated by then, EPCG will move to plan "B" by introducing subcontractors to the work in order to meet the deadline of November 15th.
"Vijesti" is waiting for answers from EPCG whether the contractor met the deadline and whether they have switched to plan "B".
The document, which Vijesti has access to, specifies that the works that will enable the restart of the thermal power plant will be completed by November 15th of this year, but that testing, technical checks and certification will take at least another half a year. This means that the Pljevlja TPP, although it could produce electricity again at the end of 2025, will be under a trial operation and supervision regime during 2026.
The annex formally extends the deadlines of the main contract and introduces new obligations for the contractors. It states that additional works - such as the modernization of the wastewater treatment system, the expansion of the starting boiler room, the construction of a new oil pipeline and the connection of the Pljevlja district heating system - must be completed "in synchronization with the main contract", but no later than May 15, 2026.
According to the dynamic plan in the Annex, construction works should be completed by October 15, 2025, the connection of the thermal power plant and the start of trial operation by November 15, while "cold" and "hot" tests are scheduled for February 2026. This will be followed by a performance test and the issuance of a certificate of conformity (COC) by June 2026, and the final plant handover certificate (TOC) is planned for June 2028.
The document states that during the implementation of the basic contract, it was determined that there are services, goods and works that are not included in it, which are necessary to ensure a technical and technological functional unit and connect the newly built facilities in the ecological reconstruction project with the existing thermal power plant facilities.
"In order to overcome the described technical problem and with the contractor's offer of December 2, 2024, an annex to the contract is being added because only the contractor can deliver part of the missing equipment that is compatible with the already designed, delivered and installed equipment," it says in the document, which "Vijesti" has access to.
Liability for subcontractors
The Ministry of Energy pointed out that there are problems in the implementation of this important project in the Information it prepared for the Government at the end of September.
"In an effort to ensure that all projects at the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant are implemented with quality and within the planned dynamics within the projected deadlines, and in order to put the thermal power plant into operation on November 15, 2025, the EPCG Management, with coordinated positions with the project managers and the coordination team, met with the contractor (DEC) and pointed out to him the delays, deficiencies, omissions and irregularities and proposed the method and measures that need to be taken urgently and without delay in order to eliminate them and contribute to the quality and dynamics of the performed works. In order to achieve and compensate for the visible, and still recoverable, lag in dynamics and eliminate the observed deficiencies and irregularities, it is necessary to promptly and additionally engage the contractor, engage more and additionally a professional workforce and reference subcontractors, mechanization, as well as work in shifts on all projects and positions where delays have been noted," the document states.
The Ministry also states that EPCG has given the contractor an additional deadline to eliminate all observed irregularities, deficiencies and delays by September 25, and to submit a plan of activities and measures taken on that basis and a confirmation statement that all works on the ecological reconstruction project, boiler adaptation and chimney adaptation will be carried out and functional testing of the plant will be carried out in a timely manner in order to create the conditions for commissioning and continuation of production of the thermal power plant by November 15, 2025.
"If no visible progress is observed in the dynamics and elimination of deficiencies and irregularities by then, the Investor will approach an alternative solution and will be forced to introduce subcontractors who have a workforce qualified to perform work on the ecological reconstruction and boiler adaptation facilities so that all work that needs to be completed to return the TPP to operation by November 15, 2025, can be carried out in accordance with the EPCG alternative plan. With this plan, there are certain risks of the Investor assuming responsibility for the quality of the work performed, but EPCG will try to convince the contractor (DEC) in the next 10 days to agree in writing on the introduction of subcontractors so that the work can be completed in accordance with the plan," the Information states.
The aim of the project for the ecological reconstruction of the thermal power plant is the construction of a facility for the purpose of adapting its operation to the conditions prescribed in the legal regulations of Montenegro and the European Union directives (Directive IED 2010/75/EC) in terms of air, water and soil protection. The ecological reconstruction envisages the construction of a desulfurization plant, a denitrification plant within the boiler, a wastewater treatment plant, an auxiliary fuel supply system with an auxiliary boiler room, a cooling tower, an internal transport system for solid by-products of coal combustion, a technical solution for providing noise protection, and the main source of heat energy for district heating in Pljevlja.
Šahmanović: Deadlines have been set, I expect everyone's commitment
Šahmanović visited Pljevlja at the end of August, where he visited the works on the ecological reconstruction of the thermal power plant, the city's district heating system, and the relocation of the Ćehotina riverbed.
The Minister emphasized that these are not just infrastructure projects and investments, these are joint ventures that affect the stability of Montenegro's energy system.
"The deadlines have been set and I expect maximum commitment from all participants. The Ministry is here to help and provide support. The coal mine and the thermal power plant function as two links in the same chain, synchronization is key," said Šahmanović.
Đukanović: Despite the problems, the contract was signed in 2020
In an author's text posted on the EPCG website on September 3, the chairman of the state-owned company's board of directors Milutin Djukanovic states that the ecological reconstruction contract was signed on June 10, 2020 for a value of EUR 44.981.129 plus VAT.
"The fact that the Kick-off meeting, held on October 9, 2020, concluded that the gas denitrification system, as envisaged in the previously prepared Preliminary Design (contract dated March 27, 2018, contractor Steag Energy Services GmbH from Essen, Germany), could not be implemented, speaks for itself. It was also concluded that the real value of the project, in order for things to be functional and meet regulatory requirements, is around 75M to 80M euros. Despite the problems identified immediately after signing the (problematic) contract, an advance payment of €10.885.540 was paid to Bemax and BB Solar (the case is before the SDT)," says Đukanović.
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