Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Milutin Mrkonjic said today that the total value of the fourth phase of the Programme of rehabilitation of the district heating system in Serbia, as part of which 18 plants will be revitalised over the next four years, is €66.3 million.

Mrkonjic, who marked the beginning of realisation of the fourth stage together with German Ambassador to Serbia Wolfram Maas, recalled that this project is jointly funded by the governments of Serbia and Germany.

The project is implemented by the German Development Bank (KfW) and the Serbian Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy.

He said that owing to this programme, the plants in Serbia will provide better, more efficient and economical heating, which will be charged for according to the quantity of heat consumed.

Also, the consumers will be able to regulate their own consumption and their heating bills as well, the Minister added.

Maas underlined that Serbia got funds for the realisation of this project under very favourable terms, with a 12-year repayment period, a 2.5% fixed interest rate and a 4-year grace period.

He said that Germany allocated €45 million in loans and €2 million in donations for this phase.

The European Fund for the Western Balkans also set aside €2 million in donations, said Maas, adding that Germany wrote off Serbian debt in the amount of €9.25 million on condition that this money is invested in improving energy efficiency.

The rest of the planned total amount of €66.3 million should be provided by Serbia, he said.

In the previous three phases of the programme, whose total value amounted to €45.2 million, eight heating plants – those in Belgrade, Nis, Novi Sad, Sombor, Zrenjanin, Kragujevac, Kraljevo and Pirot – were revitalised.

The initial meeting was also attended by programme manager Matthias Trefs, State Secretary Dusan Mrakic and Advisor to the Serbian Prime Minister for Energy Petar Skundric