Concession for Vjosa River hydro plants studied

TIRANA, March 2 – Albania’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy is looking for an international consultant to prepare the groundwork for the construction and operation under concession of several hydro-electric power plants on the Vjosa River in southern Albania, officials said this week.
The ministry said the consultant would work for 14 months to assist the government in organizing a tender and selecting a strategic partner to carry out the necessary investments.
More than two decades ago, there was a feasibility study done to see whether the construction of hydropower plants was viable on the Vjosa River. But the plan of then Communist Albania was never implemented due to the economic troubles of the 1980s.
The Vjosa River, the largest in southern Albania, can increase the current production of energy in Albania by 50 percent. One of the planned hydropower plants to be built there, at Kalivaci, as already began to be built under concession. The installed capacity there is 93 MW and production is 360 GWh per year. It is under implementation and is foreseen to be put in operation at the end of 2010.