PETROVIĆ: BREAKTHROUGH OF TUNNEL TO DABAR FIELD – THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF JOB

NEVESINJE, OCTOBER 25 /SRNA/ – The breakthrough of the Nevesinje–Dabar Field tunnel, 12,125 meters long, is the most difficult part of the 'Dabar' Hydropower Plant project, while the construction of other facilities, which is progressing according to plan, will be easier to complete, said the General Director of Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske /ERS/, Luka Petrović.

He said it was a great satisfaction to visit the construction site of the headrace tunnel of the 'Dabar' Hydropower Plant, where more than 10 kilometers of the tunnel have already been completed, including the secondary lining.

"The value of the construction contract for the headrace tunnel, with access tunnels of a total length of 13 kilometers, amounts to around BAM 60 million, and we financed it from our own resources", Petrović told reporters during a tour of the tunnel.

He added that the value of the second contract is EUR 224 million and includes all other facilities of the "Dabar" Hydropower Plant, such as the 'Pošćenje' dam, the 'Grebak' and 'Vranjača' embankments, the canal through Dabar Field, and the power plant itself. The guarantors of this contract are the Government of Republika Srpska, ERS, and Hydropower Plants on the Trebišnjica River.

Petrović thanked the company Integral Inženjering, the main contractor for the tunnel works, emphasizing that few companies in the Balkans are capable of executing such projects as this domestic company.

"This is the most demanding facility within the ‘Dabar’ Hydropower Plant system and the longest tunnel ever built by Republika Srpska and by a public enterprise", Petrović pointed out.

He thanked President Milorad Dodik for supporting this major project, as well as the Government and the entire leadership of Republika Srpska.

"The value of this facility is immense because it will enable the production of the most cost-effective energy, providing an additional 12 percent output at downstream hydropower plants of HET, thanks to the water diverted from the ‘Dabar’ Hydropower Plant through the canal and tunnel from Dabar Field to Lake Bileća. It will also create the Nevesinje Reservoir with a capacity of over 60 million cubic meters", Petrović stated.

He added that the 'Dabar' Hydropower Plant project will have no negative effects, since large water volumes will flow into the lake, protecting agricultural land from flooding along the lower Neretva River and preventing droughts during dry periods.

The Director of the 'Dabar' Hydropower Plant, Danilo Ilić, said that today marks a historic day because this tunnel is the most important structure in the system and the most challenging one to build — the heart of the system — as it will carry water from the Nevesinje Field to the Dabar Field, where the powerhouse will be located.