National grid company Transelectrica on Tuesday finalised the first phase of the biggest investment it has operated so far, the retooling of Bucuresti Sud substation.
The total value of the contract related to the modernisation of Transelectrica electrical substation stands at 47.2 million euros, with work carried out by Germany's Siemens group.
The project, initiated in 2004, has reached the stage where Transelectrica has started operating the 220 kV substation, which cost 12.5m euros.
Bucuresti Sud substation plays a strategic role in the overall national power system since it is a junction, which connects electricity producers Nuclearelectrica and Electrocentrale Bucuresti (ELCEN), Transelectrica grid company and Electrica Muntenia Sud electricity distributor.
Transelectrica, a state-owned company recently floated on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, is conducting an extensive investment programme, put at over 600 million euros over the next eight years, in order to upgrade its electricity transmission infrastructure.
"The upgrade of the Bucuresti Sud 220 kV substation is part of the upgrade project involving Bucuresti Sud 400kV, 200kV, 110 kV, 10kV substations. The project is the biggest investment Transelectrica has carried out so far," states Stelian Gal, general manager of the grid company.
Works are partly self-funded by Transelectrica and partly paid for with a 28 million-euro loan granted by Germany's Kreditanstalt f?r Wiederaufbau (KfW), falling due in ten years, with a four-year grace period.
The general contractor of the project is the consortium made up of Siemens Austria, Siemens Germany and Siemens Romania, with Energomontaj and TRAPEC as subcontractors. "By the end of this year, we are going to organise tenders to select the firms that are to retool Gheorghieni, Targoviste, Lacul Sarat, Isalnita, Gura Ialomitei, Pestisu and Iasi voltage transformation substations," Transelectrica representative also said, without unveiling the total value of these projects.
Works carried out by Siemens have a three-year warranty.
"After this term, we want to seal a maintenance contract with the same producer, Siemens. We are going to negotiate this with the representatives of the German group," Gal also said. The project is due to be finalised next August.
On the other hand, Siemens is one of the most important players on the market of Transelectrica projects, beside ABB, General Electric, Areva and Itochu.
For Bucuresti Sud, Siemens equipment was imported.
As a matter of fact, Siemens, present on the domestic market with production facilities, as well, announced it was not interested in producing components for major power projects.
Transelectrica posted 31 million-euro net income in the first half, above the figure reported for the entire last year, of 29.2 million euros.
Transelectrica
Ended the first phase of its biggest investment so far on the power market
The investment targeted the upgrading of Bucuresti Sud electrical substation
The total value of the contract stood at 47.2m euros
Work was carried out by Siemens German group
Has initiated an extensive investment programme, put at over 600m euros over the next 8 years, to modernise its own electrical power transmission infrastructure
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