Kosovo will open tender for building power transmission line to Albania in 2010

PRISTINA, Sep 25؋osovo will open an international tender for the construction of its section of an 85-kilometrepower transmission line linking it with neighbouring Albania in the first quarter next year, Kosovo’s Transmission System and Market Operator, KOSTT, said on Friday.
German consultancy MVV Decon will help in arranging the tender, KOSTT said in a statement after the signing of the deal between the consultancy, KOSTT, Albania’s transmission operator OSSH and German’s development bank KfW, which finances part of the project.
The 238-kilometre 400-kilovolt (kV) line, worth over 70 million euro ($102 million), is expected to be put into operation in 2012.It will help Albania diversify its electricity import routes, currently high-voltage only with Greece. The Albanian section of the future transmission line will be 153.5 kilometres long.
KfW has already granted a combined 1.3 million euro to Albania towards the costof this project and another project for the construction of a110-kV transmission linein the south of the country. Albania’s Finance Ministry has said KfW would also lend some 50 million euro to finance the Albanian section of the 400-kV transmission line. KfW will also finance the construction of the Kosovo section of the power line through a grant and a loan.