Hidroelectrica allocates 75 mln euro to refurbish the Stejaru hydropower station

Hidroelectrica announces the launch of an international open tender for the refurbishment of the Stejaru hydroelectric plant in the Neamt County – in operation since 1960, a project of 75 million euro. The state-owned company sent on May 16 the related documentation for the tender to the National Authority for Regulating and Monitoring Public Procurement for examination. 

”The estimated value of the project is 75 million euro and it will be implemented over a period of 7 years after signing the contract. The contract puts forward the refurbishment of the six hydropower units totaling an installed capacity of 210 MW. By using the great volume of the Mountain Spring reservoir, no less than 1.23 billion m³ of water (it is the second largest reservoir in the country, after the Iron Gates I - a volume of 2.5 billion m³), the Stejaru hydropower plant injects an average of 435 GWh annually into the National Energy System”, states a press release.

The refurbishment project is not new. It was initiated in 2008 with costs estimated of nearly 140 million euro, including VAT, of which 110 million euro  was supposed to be secured from a syndicated loan provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (financing worth 70 million euro from EBRD and 40 million euro from BCR, Erste Bank and Caixa Bank), while the remaining funds were contribution of Hidroelectrica. Yet, last year in March, the judicial administrator terminated the financing contract with the EBRD, due to delaying the decision on releasing the coresponding funds needed for the project.

”We start the tendering procedure for the contract concerning the refurbishment of the Stejaru hydroelectric station, for a cost reduced by 35 million euro compared to the initial procedure initiated in 2012 with financing from the EBRD. The price difference is the result of measures implemented by the judicial administrator such as streamlining costs, determining the fair estimated value of the investment, not a price 3 up to 8 times higher than those in the market, a common practice until the company’s insolvency”,  said Remus Borza, representative of Euro Insol, Hidroelectrica’s judicial administrator.

Hence, the project will be supported through the company’s own financial resources, upon arranging the required documentation in accordance with the existing regulations with regard to public procurement.

The tender is expected to be carried out this fall, by the end of October, Hidroelectrica having already notified over 300 companies worldwide on this project which according to the same source is of great interest both within Romania and internationally.

Borza also said that Hidroelecetrica ran negotiations with the World Bank for a 200 million euro loan which will be destined to refurbish Vidraru, Mariselu and Raul Mare Retezat hydropower plants, which have a total power capacity of 700 MW. The Ministry of Finance is expected to release the letters of guarantee for the financing be effective.