Hydro power plant –Lumbardh

by Arta Pllana

Hello and welcome, you are listening to UNMIK On-Air

In September of last year our team visited the newly privately owned Hydro power plant formerly known as ‘Kozhnjer” now called ‘Lumëbardh”. At that time renovation of the building was just beginning.

Sounds of water

As a much –discussed option to solve Kosovo’s energy crisis the stream some 15 kilometres northwest of Decan was to provide a different solution.

Hydroplant ‘Lumbardh’ after 7 years of disuse is again, today producing energy. An American-Albaninan Company based in New York invested 7 million euros in this project.

At that time Hasan Cacaj , a representative of the company in Kosovo gave us a tour around the hydro plant, showing truly the very first stage of the renovation as the turbines and generators were in Croatia and Slovenia for reparation. He was very optimistic as he believed that the Hydro power plant would be fully operational within a year.

Sounds of water and sound of generator

One year later and Hasan’s predictions were correct. For UNMIK Radio Hasan Cacaj speaks:

“8 megawatt ,my believe is it is a little help because Kosovo need’s far more energy but the capacity of 8 megawatt can cover one part such as Municipality of Decani. This will be done by the distribution of KEK –not through us and 8 megawatt can cover a municipality of Decani”

This Company has a contract with KEK for 20 years with a possible renewal for another 20 years and they see this as a very valuable long-term investment, having in mind that it may take up to 10 years to win their money back and to start making profit.

‘We are thinking long term, our mind was not set to do a quick business, but long term and secure, and we also think this is in interest of the Decani area, in interest of Kosovar citizens and also for the workers that are hired to work here”.

The company was helped by – The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) giving out a loan of 5.5 milion euros, but Hasan is also grateful to the local institutions for their support, and believes this project is a boost for other private investors, as he explains:

‘We have had a great support from relevant institutions and government, and from the international community, and in way helped us to go on forward with a project and we hope they will support other companies for investments, since we like the idea of the big companies to come to Kosovo and make investments and we see this as a main priority’.

Currently 17 workers are employed in this Hydro power plant, and Mario Lujak an engineer from the well known engineering company “Koncar” from Zagreb, has come to supervise the workers as they are installing the second generator. According to him the power plant is expected to start working fully with the capacity of 8 megawatt just at around mid November.

Mario hopes for some further cooperation with Kosovo in the future:

Flet kroatisht

“We hope for more work in Kosovo, still to do business with Triangle Company, and maybe to have more power plants like this one and I think this is only the beginning”.

We hope to, as Kosovo has potential for foreign investments and a need for more employment opportunities.

This project will certainly help the energy situation, by giving small but valuable contribution and nowadays in every street corner the generator noise reminds us that all possible solutions to the energy crisis have to be looked into.

Thank you for listening to UNMIK ON Air, have a good day.

Shenim per Eranden:

Paragrafi I fundit ku thot: and nowadays in every street corner… mundesh me e ilustru me zhurmen e gjeneratortit …vetem sygjerim.