Partner to power systems of Serbia and Persian Gulf countries - Energoprojekt Entel consultant on USD 7 billion projects in Qatar

Energoprojekt Entel has been working on the development of an electric power system in Persian Gulf countries for as much as two decades now. Over the last four years alone, this company has been serving as the lead consultant on more then USD 7 billion worth of electric power projects in Qatar, Energoprojekt Entel CEO Mladen Simovic says in a talk with eKapija.

As our interlocutor points out, Energoprojekt Entel, which works as a project engineer and technical consultant in the energy sector, employs 380 people in the Near East.

- After the crisis in Iraq, where we worked on many projects, we started our activities in the Persian Gulf. Our companies in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha hire men from Serbia and local people to work on numerous projects we implement. We began our work on Phase 4 development of the electric power system in Qatar 20 years ago. This involves the installation of a 400 kV power grid and represents the world's largest project ever in the field of electricity transfer. The value of energy projects in Qatar is measured in billions, meaning that such investments are much bigger than in our country – Simovic stresses.

Work in the energy sector of countries in the Near East is particularly specific because it is necessary to produce water in addition to electricity.

(Mladen Simovic)

- Now we work on the last phase of development of the electric power system in Qatar, which involves further implementation and development of the 400 kV grid. Practically, in all these countries we specialize in projects related to electricity generation. We are mainly working on plants that generate both electricity and water at the same time, where water is obtained by processing sea water - Simovic explains.

Our interlocutor says that the Near East is one of the most demanding markets in the world, where only companies offering top quality goods or services can operate.

- Energoprojekt Entel is constantly working on new technologies, new knowledge, new equipment. We are doing our best to use our experiences from abroad in the work in Serbia, where we are partners on a number of projects in the energy sector.

Ongoing projects "at home"

In order for a company to be able to operate well in the world, it must first prove itself at home. In Serbia, Energoprojekt Entel leads the consortium hired to carry out the reconstruction of Unit 2 at Kostolac Steam Power Plant, which is a project worth more than EUR 66 million.

People at Energoprojekt Entel say that they are sure that this project will be finished by 9 December 2012 as planned.

This Belgrade-based company is also engaged in the flue gas desulfurization project at Nikola Tesla Steam Power Plant (TENT) in Obrenovac, which is the first project of that kind in Serbia. Japan's TEPSCO consulting company was selected in July to prepare a tender documentation for this project worth EUR 250 million.

- We are working with our Japanese colleagues on a flue gas desulfurization system for TENT. Energoprojekt Entel is the local consultant to the Japanese company. We are designing a system that will eliminate sulfur from flue gases. According to an agreement on energy community, we should stop our power plants from emitting sulfur-dioxide by 2017 – Miodrag Mesarovic, advisor at Energoprojekt Entel and secretary general of the Serbian National Committee of the World Energy Council, says to eKapija.

(Nikola Tesla Steam Power Plant - TENT)

For this "green" investment, the Japanese government has approved a loan to TENT. The flue gas desulfurization project will be implemented in four units of TENT A and, as people at TENT announced, this project should be completed by 2016.

With the aim of improving energy efficiency, Energoprojekt has built a EUR 350,000 solar plant on the roof of its building.

- This solar plant has the installed capacity of 120 kW. We are now waiting for last papers and to sign a feed-in tariff agreement for electricity sales – Mesarovic says and adds that he does not expect any changes in feed-in tariffs.

Energoprojekt Entel is also working on a project for a US investor planning to build a wind generator in Kovin, with the installed capacity of 300 MW.

This investor is Continental Wind Partners, which plans to invest EUR 450 million in the wind farm Cibuk. As Energoprojekt announced earlier, the Belgrade-based company is also interested in building that plant.

People at Energoprojekt Entel hope that the Serbian energy sector will find the strength next year to increase investments, which would provide domestic electric power engineering companies with a chance to utilize the experience and knowledge they have been gaining abroad for years in their work in Serbia.

Suzana Obradovic