Energy Minister: Development of Plans for Djerdap 3 Hydropower Plant to Commence This Year

(BETAPHOTO/Ministarstvo ruradstva i energetike/Petar Remecki)

On July 16 in Bucharest, Serbian Mining and Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic and Romanian Prime Minister and acting energy minister Ilie Bolojan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on easing the exchange of information regarding the Djerdap 3 reversible hydroelectric power plant project. Djedovic Handanovic also announced that Serbia will commence developing conceptual and technical documentation this year.

“Serbia and Romania’s partnership in the field of power production dates back to 1963, when the former [Socialist Federal Republic of] Yugoslavia and Romania signed an Agreement on Constructing and Managing the Djerdap hydro-energy and navigation system on the Danube River. This significant treaty founded the Joint Yugoslav-Romanian Commission for Djerdap, offering an institutional framework for the successful implementation and long-term management of one of the most important joint infrastructure projects our countries share,” the minister said.

Djedovic Handanovic went on to state that Djerdap 3 is a strategic energy project of the highest significance, which will position Serbia much better in the electric power balancing market of Southeastern Europe.

“With this power plant, we will be able to integrate far more renewable energy production capacities into the grid, thereby contributing to the energy transition and promoting a cleaner energy sector,” the minister said and stressed that if Djerdap 3 is constructed, it will become the largest power storage facility in Europe’s south-east.

The Djerdap 3 project is supposed to be actualized in accordance with the Agreement on Strategic Cooperation in the Energy Sector signed by Serbia and the United States, which took effect in March 2025.

This document was the basis for the issuing of a public call for expressions of interest in the project, which was answered by six companies.