The revelations made by VMRO-DPMNE President Hristijan Mickoski about the planned Cebren hydro plant show that the SDSM led Government made several changes to the project that will benefit the Greek state energy company.

In his interview with Republika, Mickoski, who was formerly head of the Macedonian main energy company ELEM, revealed that there is a major problem with the way in which the Government runs the large Cebren hydro project. The current Government plans to give the large hydro potential on the Crna river to the Greek state owned energy company, and as part of the deal, the Greeks will also get the already built Tikves dam near Kavadarci.

He pointed out to different elements of the contract that is being prepared for Cebren. Under one, drafted under Zoran Zaev, the Greek company would receive Tikves only three months after it finishes its own investment in the much larger Cebren hydro plant. But Oliver Spasovski, as interim Prime Minister, changed this article and now the investor in Cebren would receive Tikves almost immediately after the contract is signed.

If construction of Cebren goes on for six years and if in the meantime Tikves continues to produce 150,000 MGWh, we come to a profit of 100 million EUR, Mickoski warned.

In January 2020, the Government published its decision to award a concession for the large hydro plant. This decision included a number of other obligations – that the company investor will need to build a large energy relay station, access roads and secure surplus energy that will be used to fill a smaller accumulation that will reverse flow into Cebren during the night.

In February the same year, another decision was published, which does not include these obligations. It also includes a clause that the company which will win the concession will get the Tikves dam three months after it begins construction.

Whether out of lack of understanding of the issue, or because of other reasons, but the process was structured mistakenly and as a potential future Government we are concerned about the very complex situation that is being created. The people have a right to know whether the deal includes handing over the hydro plant Tikves three months after construction on Cebren has begun, or three months after Cebren has gone into production. The difference between these two proposals amounts to 100 million EUR, Mickoski said.