The contract on the transfer of rights to the concession for coal exploitation at the “Istok Two” deposit from the company “Comsar Energy” to the Mine and Thermal Power Plant (RiTE) “Ugljevik” was signed yesterday in Ugljevik.
It was signed by the Minister of Energy and Mining of Republika Srpska (RS), Petar Djokic, on behalf of the Government of RS; the representative of the company “Comsar Energy RS,” Aleksandar Lozo; and the director of RiTE “Ugljevik,” Zarko Novakovic.
After the signing of the contract, Minister Djokic announced the support of the Government of RS to the Municipality of Ugljevik in resolving the problems of residents who are located in the zone of mining works of the RiTE “Ugljevik.”
After talks with the Mayor of the Municipality, Dragan Gajic, Djokic stated that road infrastructure is particularly endangered due to coal exploitation, and that the public enterprise “Roads of RS” will urgently, together with RiTE “Ugljevik,” work on the rehabilitation of the road.
“It is also necessary to rehabilitate the local water supply system, which the municipality will do together with RiTE, and I will advocate that, in the business plan of ‘Elektro-Bijeljina’ for this year, the priority be the construction of a substation in Ugljevik, as an incentive for the further development and urbanization of the municipality,” Djokic told journalists.
He emphasized that it is necessary to decisively undertake measures in order to resolve citizens’ problems and improve living conditions, stressing that the existing problems directly reflect on the functioning of the entire municipality, including the work of the local government and administration.
The Mayor of the Municipality of Ugljevik, Dragan Gajic, stated that the minister was presented with the situation in the local communities that are endangered by coal exploitation, especially when it comes to road infrastructure, the power grid, water supply, and telecommunications networks, and that concrete solutions were agreed upon.
“The signing of the concession contract for RiTE ‘Ugljevik’ represents a step toward better and more efficient resolution of all these problems,” Gajic said.
He also emphasized the need to build a substation in the urban part of Ugljevik, at the location where the construction of a kindergarten and residential buildings is planned, adding that in the past seven years, not a single residential building has been constructed in Ugljevik.
