Fierza Plant to get significant revamp

TIRANA, March 30 – Energy-starved Albania has completed a 30.4 million euro ($40.5 million) project to revamp its largest hydroelectric unit in an effort to revive its ailing power system, raise production and avoid power cuts, power utility KESH said. “All four generators of the Fierza hydroelectric power plant, with a total installed capacity of 500 megawatts, have been repaired,” KESH spokeswoman Klodiana Gjinaj said. “The repair work started in 2003 and was completed last month,” Gjinaj added. The outdated Fierza unit, located on Albania’s longest river, the Drin, is the country’s major hydroelectric power plant with an average generation capacity of 1,328 gig watt-hours per year. The unit together with the Koman and Vau i Dejes plants, also built on the river, form the Drin cascade of hydroelectric units. The project was a joint financing of KESH and foreign donors to the ex-Communist country, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the governments of Italy and Switzerland. Donors provided 20.7 million euro for the project, KESH said. The overhaul was part of a larger project for the revamp of the whole Drin cascade. Albania, which relies mostly on its hydro resources, needs urgently to upgrade its failing generating system and raise capacities to avoid power cuts. About 90 percent of the electricity in the impoverished country is generated by hydropower plants which have a total installed capacity of 1,670 MW.