Works Launched on 400 kV Obrenovac-Bajina Basta Overhead Power Line  

Power plant Kostolac (Beta/Emil Vas)

Serbian national transmission system operator Elektromreza Srbije (EMS) has said that on June 10, works started on building a 400 kV overhead power line, with bi-directional design, linking Obrenovac with Bajina Basta, which is slated for completion by 2027. 

The 109-kilometer transmission line will be part of the third section of the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor and will cost EUR71 million. In addition to the overhead lines, the third section also includes equipping two new transmission line fields within the Obrenovac substation and raising the voltage level of the Bajina Basta grid station to 400 kV.

The total value of the third section is about EUR100 million, secured from a EUR64.5 million loan from development bank KfW, a donation of approximately EUR21 from the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), and funds from EMS’ own coffers. 

The cornerstone was laid by EMS Director Jelena Matejic, Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, EU Delegation Head Emanuele Giaufret, and Judith Hoffmann, first secretary at the German Embassy in Belgrade. Giaufret said that the EU had provided EUR38.3 million in a grant for the entire Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor, with favorable loans from KfW, adding that over previous years, the EU had provided more than EUR1 billion for the energy sector in Serbia.

EMS said that the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor involved four sections: Section 1 – from Pancevo to the border with Romania, was completed in 2017; Section 2 – linking Kragujevac and Kraljevo was finalized in 2022; Section 4 – planned construction of transmission lines connecting Bajina Basta with Visegrad in Bosnia and Herzegovini and Pljevlje in Montenegro, which is scheduled for completion in 2028.