en.Wedoany.com Reported - North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski stated that the country will decide to build the Čebren pumped storage hydropower plant on its own, without seeking private partners.
The Čebren pumped storage hydropower plant project has been advancing in North Macedonia for years. The most recent attempt, according to some counts the 14th, was unsuccessful in early 2024. According to MIA reports, the investment for the plant is estimated at €1.5 billion (including interest). Mickoski emphasized that the project will be implemented independently by the state, without introducing private partners. The final decision will also depend on a meeting held within the state-owned power company Elektrani na Severna Makedonija (ESM).
Mickoski believes that calculations show the investment's internal rate of return exceeds 10%, making the project economically viable. Beyond its economic importance, authorities have also considered that, in the context of global warming, the region will face a shortage of two drinking water reservoirs in the future. The Čebren project can also be used to irrigate 60,000 hectares of land in the Tikveško polje region, which Mickoski noted holds extremely significant strategic importance for North Macedonia. He also indicated that this area could be utilized for developing data centers.
The Prime Minister reiterated that the authorities are very close to making a decision to develop the project independently by the state. This means preparing a feasibility study and selecting a company in accordance with the FIDIC Yellow Book. In the most recent attempt to find a partner for the project, the government selected a Greek consortium consisting of the Public Power Corporation (PPC) and Archirodon, which had planned to establish a public-private partnership with ESM.
The idea of building the Čebren pumped storage hydropower plant dates back to the 1960s. North Macedonian authorities have considered constructing an energy storage project with an installed capacity ranging from 333 MW to 458 MW, with an expected annual electricity generation between 1 TWh and 1.2 TWh.
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