Largest hydropower project under construction in Central and Eastern Europe starts construction
On June 23rd local time, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the construction of the Dabar Hydropower Station project in Bosnia and Herzegovina by China Energy Construction Gezhouba Group, marking the official start of the largest hydropower station project built by Chinese enterprises in Central and Eastern Europe. The Prime Minister of Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Radovan Veskovic, delivered a speech for the groundbreaking ceremony and laid the foundation stone. Chinese Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Ji Ping, Republika Srpska Minister of Energy and Mining Petar Corkizi, General Manager of Republika Srpska Electricity Company Luka, and the head of China Energy Construction Gezhouba International Corporation attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
Radovan Viskovic said that the Dabar Hydropower Station project in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a major strategic project related to the livelihood of the people of Republika Srpska, and he hoped that China Energy Construction Gezhouba Group and all the participating units of the project would work together to build the Dabar Hydropower Station into a high-quality project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, drive the intensive development of processing industry, tourism, fisheries, agriculture and other supporting production activities, and create more jobs for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project will create more employment opportunities, boost the local economy and benefit the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ji Ping congratulated the successful opening ceremony and expressed his hope that China Energy Construction would uphold the concept of “integrity, fairness and win-win cooperation”, bring into play the company’s professional advantages in the field of hydropower, operate in good faith and in compliance, practice social responsibility, actively contribute to the economic and social development of Bosnia and Herzegovina, promote people-to-people contact and make greater contributions to the promotion of friendship between China and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company will make a greater contribution to promoting friendship between China and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The person in charge of China Energy Construction Gezhouba International Company said that this year is the 10th anniversary of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, and the Dabar hydropower plant is an important achievement of the high-quality construction of the “One Belt, One Road” and the deepening of the cooperation mechanism between China and Central and Eastern European countries. China Energy Construction Gezhouba Group will actively practice the concept of green development, give full play to its expertise in hydropower construction, build the Dabar Hydropower Station into a benchmark project and a high-quality project, and help the achievements of China-Central and Eastern Europe cooperation to better benefit the people of both countries.
Dabar Hydropower Station has an installed capacity of 159.15 MW, with a total investment of 244 million Euros and a construction period of 48 months. The hydropower station is located in the town of Belkovic, Trebinje, in a mountainous area. After completion, it will effectively alleviate the problem of regional power shortage, promote local economic and social development, and help Bosnia and Herzegovina’s energy security and green transformation.
After the groundbreaking ceremony, a memorandum of understanding was signed between China Energy Construction Gezhouba International Corporation and Serbian Electricity Company in the presence of Radovan Viskovic, Ji Ping and Petar Corkizi.
The opening ceremony was attended by about 600 people from the Republika Srpska government, the Chinese Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska Electric Power Company, Dabar Hydro Power Company Limited, relevant officials of China Energy Construction Gezhouba International Company, the Dabar Project Department of China Energy Construction Gezhouba Group, the Representative Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and representatives of overseas Chinese in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chinese enterprises and local people.
