prijava
TUZLA, July 1 (FENA) – Elektroprenos BiH launched an investment cycle worth more than KM 150 million last year, after years of stagnation, focused on infrastructure development, stated Amir Avdagić during the conference Regional Energy Security and Sustainable Investment Cycle – Energy Shift 2 in Tuzla
He emphasized that the company, as the electricity transmission operator in Bosnia and Herzegovina, expects concrete and measurable results already during this year.
In addition to investments in the power transmission network, the company also implemented a telecommunications equipment procurement project worth around KM 40 million, representing one of the key steps in modernizing the system and improving its reliability.
Additional momentum for investments, Avdagić added, was provided by the recent signing of an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The loan is intended for the procurement of four shunt reactors for locations in Mostar, Višegrad, Banja Luka, and Tuzla, which are expected to help resolve high-voltage issues in the transmission network.
Speaking about the challenges facing the company, Avdagić said that investment implementation continues to be slowed by complex property-legal relations, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina’s administrative and legal fragmentation.
''We have the state level, two entities, and ten cantons, each with different regulations in force. All of this affects the pace of implementation of investment projects,'' Avdagić added.
A particular issue, according to him, has been appeals in public procurement procedures. Elektroprenos BiH calculated that appeal processes, often initiated by bidders with questionable motives, slowed investment implementation by between 18 and 24 months before the latest amendments to the Public Procurement Law.
Despite this, Avdagić believes important strategic projects have been launched and that conditions have been created for more significant progress in the coming period.
''We expect to record concrete and measurable progress and results this year. We have already noted an increase in profit, partly thanks to higher revenues from electricity transmission,'' Avdagić said, adding that Elektroprenos BiH represents the 'backbone of the country’s energy system'.
(FENA) A. B.
