The Director of the company “Hidroelektrane na Drini” Mile Lakić confirmed yesterday for Srna that after preparations the main construction work on the rehabilitation of leaking water below the barrier dam hydroelectric power plant began. “This is about a specific project that is unique in Europe, which is largely funded from the European Investment Bank and a part of our own resources”, said Lakić.
He hopes that the primary contractor, the Austrian company Strabag, will succeed in preventing the water leak below the dam, which was noticed in 1992, only two years after the commissioning of the Višegrad hydropower plant. Lakić added that after this project the safety of the barrier dam will increase, but also the production of electrical energy by five percent.
The Director of Strabag sector of engineering construction for South East Europe Zoran Stojić said earlier that the goal is to reduce water leakage by 15 percent at five cubic meters a second. “The hardest part ahead is backfilling underwater caverns by injecting and blocking the penetration of water under the base of the dam, but we hope that the works will be finished in 18 months’’, said Stojić.
The Mayor of Višegrad Slaviša Mišković said that the project is very important for this local community, and investments of 23 million will be realized through employment and the engagement of local firms.
