Fico: Gabcikovo Power Plant Turbines to Be Replaced Over Ten Years

Gabcikovo/Bratislava, 31 August (TASR) - The turbines at the Gabcikovo hydro-electric power plant will be replaced gradually over ten years, with the first turbine to be supplied within two years and the last within eight years, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) announced on Monday on the occasion of the signing of a contract for the turbine replacement. The project will cost more than €465 million and will be carried out by Austrian company Andritz Hydro in a consortium with Slovak company VUJE. "Eight new modern Kaplan turbines will be supplied here, along with all the other necessary technological infrastructure. This is a large-scale modernisation project that cannot be completed in a short period of time. In addition, the supplier itself needs some time to manufacture these Kaplan turbines and the related technologies," said the prime minister. Deputy Prime Minister and Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (SNS nominee) underlined that the reconstruction won't require funding from the state budget. The state-owned Water Management Construction company has generated the funds for the project itself and has also received a grant from the European Union's Modernisation Fund, he pointed out. Taraba also welcomed the fact that the investment will make Slovakia's largest hydro-electric power plant more modern, powerful and reliable. "The situation with the turbines is critical. In 2010, 16 years ago, Slovakia was warned by the manufacturer that the turbines could cease to function. Without functioning turbines, not only can we not generate electricity, we also can't carry out flood protection. I'm pleased that the tender was conducted according to the strictest European standards, that there were no objections and that we have a supplier that is a renowned global company, which guarantees that it will supply the turbines properly and service them throughout their lifetime," he stated. Water Management Construction director Peter Molda added that following the reconstruction, actual output will increase from 630 megawatts (MW) by approximately 10 percent. The declared capacity of the Gabcikovo power plant is 720 MW, but according to Molda, the plant will be able to reach that level only after the completion of the power-generation stage on the Hungarian side. mf/df