An agreement for the additional financing was signed on 22 December alongside the announcement of an €87 million joint financing package from KfW and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the 134 MWp Bitola 3 solar plant in North Macedonia.
The loan agreement with KFW alongside a grant of €10.7 million provided under the Western Balkans Investment Framework of the European Commission (WBIF) completed the financing for the €47.3 million rehabilitation programme, according to a statement by North Macedonia’s Ministry of Finance.
KfW provided a first loan of €25 million to ESM in 2023 for the third phase of the rehabilitation programme, which covers mechanical, electrical and construction measures for the rehabilitation of six of ESM’s large hydropower plants (Vrutok, Vrben, Raven, Tikves, Spilje and Globochica), as well as two dams (Mavrovo and Globochica) and other associated structures.
The project covers the rehabilitation, replacement and improvement works of the electro-mechanical and hydromechanical equipment, transformers and monitoring systems, civil works at the six stations and their associated structures, and also includes associated consultancy services. The implementation of the rehabilitation programme will result in 50 GWh of increased annual generation from ESM’s hydropower plants, the ministry said.
KfW also provided in 2024 an additional Grant for Accompanying Measures of up to €500 000 to be used to strengthen the project management capacities of the project implementation unit within ESM.
