After more than three years since obtaining the concession and almost two since issuing the urban planning and technical conditions for the small hydroelectric power plant (SHP) "Otilovići", the Electric Power Company of Montenegro (EPCG) could finally get a contractor for the project - the start of which was announced as early as 2022.
The path to selecting a contractor for the Otilovići small hydroelectric power plant was marked by two failed tenders, so the selection of a company dragged on for a year and a half, and EPCG only received three bids for the job worth 8,22 million euros on the third attempt. The state-owned EPCG officially told Vijesti that the bids are in the evaluation phase and that they believe that the contractor will be selected.
The Otilovići SHPP would be built next to the existing dam on the Ćehotina River, which was built to supply water to the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant back in 1982. Its capacity would be around three megawatts, and it is expected to produce around 11 million kilowatt-hours per year, enough to supply around 1.200 households.
The contractor will have six months from the conclusion of the contract to complete the main project, the same amount to prepare the Environmental Impact Assessment Study, a maximum of one year and eight months to carry out the works, while they will have to guarantee the project for at least two years.
EPCG stated that the bid was submitted by the Podgorica-based company "Elnos Crna Gora", while their subcontractors were Danilovgrad's "Ing Invest" and "Eurozox", while the second independent bid was submitted by Podgorica's "Vigoris Ecotech", whose subcontractors will be "Telemont" from the same city and "Nikos Cop" from Berane. The joint bid was submitted by Podgorica's "Decom group" and Cetinje's "SBCC", while their subcontractor was "Fero invest" from Skopje.
EPCG announced the third tender for the construction of a small hydropower plant on September 17th, which lasted until November 5th, after the deadline was extended through changes to the documentation.
"The bid evaluation phase is underway and the commission appointed by EPCG for this purpose will soon make a decision and publish an evaluation report within the legal deadline. Three bids were submitted within the stipulated deadline: a joint bid with subcontractors "Decom group", "SBCC", subcontractor "Fero invest doo export-import"; an independent bid with subcontractors "Elnos Crna Gora", subcontractors "Ing Invest", "Eurozox"; an independent bid with subcontractors "Vigoris Ecotech", subcontractors "Telemont", "Nikos Cop", EPCG said.
This small hydropower plant is important because it will provide new energy sources after the planned shutdown of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant by 2041, making it a key part of the energy transition and development of the municipality of Pljevlja and the entire north of the country.
According to the tender, the selected contractor will have six months from the conclusion of the contract to complete the main design, the same amount of time to prepare the Environmental Impact Assessment for this project, a maximum of one year and eight months to carry out the works, while they will have to guarantee the project for at least two or a maximum of seven years.
The first procedure for selecting a contractor for the "Otilovići" project was announced in May last year, but was canceled at the end of 2024 after EPCG continued the tender, even though one of the bidders filed an appeal. The second tender was announced at the end of last year and was canceled in April this year, because EPCG determined that the bidders did not meet the technical requirements of the tender.
In September 2021, the government gave the green light for a concession to use water for the construction of hydroelectric power plants in Montenegro, namely for the valorization of water potential from the "Otilovići" reservoir next to the existing dam, which would use the excess water flowing from that location.
The then director of EPCG Nikola Rovčanin said that he expects the tender to be announced by the end of the year, so that work could begin in the spring of 2022 - which has not yet happened. He said at the time that the construction of the Otilovići small hydropower plant had been analyzed since the beginning of the dam's construction in 1981 and that the project documentation had been revised in 2001 and 2011, but that the project had not come to fruition.
The government issued the urban planning and technical conditions for "Otilovići" in July 2023.
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