FYROM
state-owned power producer ELEM said on Thursday it has activated bank
guarantees worth 5.6 million euro ($6 million) provided by Slovenia's Riko after
the company failed to meet its contractual obligations on the construction of a
36.4 MW hydro power plant (HPP), operated by ELEM.
St. Petka HPP was
officially delivered on a turnkey basis on February 5, 2013, but some of the
works which were specified in the tender documentation were not completed within
the prescribed period and their quality did not meet the contractor's
requirements, ELEM said in a statement emailed to SeeNews.
Furthermore,
Rico failed to remove some of the faults in the HPP's operation which were
identified during the trial period.
ELEM also said that HPP St. Petka was
delivered 270 days later than agreed, on April 30, 2012, which entails penalties
in amount of 10% of the contract value. The construction of the plant was due to
be completed by April 2009.
HPP St. Petka's annual production is 66 GWh
of electricity. The project was worth 75 million euro, the FYROM government said
earlier.
FYROM construction firms Granit and Beton were hired as
subcontractors for the plant's construction.
ELEM operates two thermal
power plants and eight hydro power plants.