Prishtina, 03.04. 2012 – “The World Bank has started to implement the first country partnership strategy with Kosovo. This means that the WB is treating Kosovo as a member state with equal rights in this mechanism,” said the Minister of Economic Development during a press conference with the Deputy President of the WB for Europe and Central Asia, Philippe Le Houerou.

Minister Beqaj said that in the meetings held yesterday and today with the World Bank delegation, which included the Deputy President Le Houerou, Deputy President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Dimitris Tsitsiragos and Deputy President of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Michel Wormser, the delegation supported projects under development in Kosovo, especially those in the energy sphere.

‘We have received immense support by the World Bank (WB) in the development of new generation capacities through TPP ‘Kosova e Re’ (600 MW), a project that was reconfirmed after the option study by WB and the visit conducted by the independent WB expert panel, accompanied by the readiness to grant in principle the partial risk guarantee,” said Beqaj.

The minister said that the visit of the World Bank delegation at this moment represents an additional guarantee for the investors in this sector, while underlining the readiness of the Government of Kosovo to comply with all obligations taken to date.

‘The Government has committed to adherence with the highest international and WB standards in the construction of new capacities, and we will respect the highest environmental standards, while taking into consideration the need for stable electricity supply, its affordability by the citizens and the citizens’ public health, and in this we have a great cooperation with the WB,” Beqaj said.

The MED head emphasized that in parallel to the development of new energy generation capacities, the Government is committed to decommission TPP Kosova A by the end of 2017 and to strongly promote renewable energy sources and energy efficiency aimed at reducing the electricity demand (as per its obligations under the EnCT).

For his part, Deputy President of the World Bank for Europe and Central Asia, Philippe Le Houerou said that the first country partnership strategy between Kosovo and the World Bank clearly depicts the important relationship between two parties.

He said that the Strategy envisages the development of new generation capacities, which ensures safe energy supply; the revitalization of TPP ‘Kosova B’, decommissioning of TPP ‘Kosova A’ and increased utilization of renewable energy sources.

“This strategy will be in accordance with the Governmental Strategy. We will also have interactions and consultations with the private sector and civil society in general,” said Le Houerou, adding that the strategy entails two different pillars.

According to him, the first pillar is growth and employment, which is an issue of critical significance for economic development, while the second pillar is environmental management.

“Within these two pillars, we are working in exploring the operations to be undertaken in the future four years, namely during the period covered by the strategy, and in determining what analytical work will be required from the strategy during the said period. Certainly, all activities are aimed at increasing benefits for the Kosovo population,” he said.
 
The World Bank delegation showed high evaluations for the Government of Kosovo’s engagement in developing energy projects, while reconfirming the support by this financial body.

Otherwise, responding to the interest of media on whether the World Bank received any complaints regarding TPP Kosova e Re project by any of the potential bidders, Deputy President Le Houerou responded firmly that no complaints were ever filed.