Prishtinë, 14.02.2017 – Projects that are being developed and new projects that we have planned will take all fields of economy into another level of development that will have an impact in the economic development of the country, said Blerand Stavileci, Minister of Economic Development.

The Head of MED made these comments today during a media conference where he presented the challenges and achievements of the Ministry of Economic Development as well as priorities for 2017 with special emphasis in sectors such as energy, mining, electronic information and communication technology and public enterprises.

Energy

Speaking about the energy sector, Stavileci said that the “Kosova e Re” PP, is in advanced stages of negotiations and the agreement is that everything should finish within the first quarter of this year. According to him, during negotiations amongst the key objectives that were presented was the security of supply, acceptable price and protection of environment. He said that technology that will be used will be very environmentally friendly, in fact there will be no pollution and is in full compliance with the Energy Strategy and its goals which are joint goals for all partners that are supporting this project.
“Maybe one of the biggest achievements that we have had is the transformation from a prior structure which was construct, operate and poses into the model construct, operate and transfer. So after 20 years this power plant will be in our ownership’ he said.
Stavileci added that following completion of a total of 9 commercial agreements which will be signed, we will have the most attractive stage of the project, which will be conducted by the American investor in cooperation with the MED, WB and other partners in order to have as much competition as possible amongst power plant builders. 
Further, Minister Stavileci spoke about the strategic framework and added that the draft of the 10 year Strategy 2017-2026 on energy is ready. It is in the stage of final consultations, which derived from demands and prior consultations, especially by our main partners, who completely support all aspects related to security of energy supply, implementation of efficiency measures and diversification of energy sources. 
Stavileci also spoke about the most important projects in this field, where he mentioned the interconnection line Kosovo-Albania which was blocked by Serbia, but that we are doing the outmost within the Energy Community to make pressure in order for this problem to be solved. Another important project is the one on common market with Albania, while this year a new level of cooperation is expected to start with Albania on Energy Stock Market.
With respect to current generation capacities, the head of the MED, said that ‘Kosova B’ PP will be rehabilitated from the state budget, and the plans are to do the same with the new Mining Pit.
“After so many years we managed to budget the Efficiency Fund, so this year in MED we also have the Program for Efficiency Fund, a long awaited request, a need, and to a certain extent an obligation towards international partners, especially the Energy Community Treaty of the EC”, he said.
Amongst the important projects he mentioned establishment of the One Stop Shop for renewable energy sources and feasibility study for gas pipelines together with the Albanian Ministry of Energy and Industry.

Electronic Information and Communication Technology

In the field of Electronic Information and Communication Technology, Stavileci spoke about 7 projects. The first one achieved is budgeting of the Fund for IT technology, based on the concept document and Development Strategy for the IT Sector, where two million Euros were budgeted in the MED budget.   
The next project is that of a digital park, for which several areas were already identified, and I think it will be of extraordinary assistance for the sector of this community” he said. “As a country, we are slowly embarking on the era e digital economy and I think that this economy more than any other type is suitable for our characteristics, especially the demographic ones”, he said, by outlining the young age, knowledge of foreign languages and adaption to information technology.
According to him, it is enough to place creativity and imagination of young men and women in the service of the private sector, innovation, which will then put into operation in processes not only within certain sectors thereof but also in the Kosovo and International economy. 
“Another project is that of establishment of creative and innovation centers of economy, on which we will soon have a concept document from Microsoft, and we will find the right form and implement. We will most probably use a PPP model in this instance as well”, said Stavileci.

Mines

With respect to the mining sector, Stavileci assessed that the Law on Trepça is something for which we are all proud of, as it comes as a result of work with all stakeholders with a consensus from all in order to do the outmost with this economic giant, which faced different challenges for a long time.
According to him the next three steps are: Establishment of the Board of the Enterprise, Drafting of the Statute for the Enterprise and its registration into the register of enterprises in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.  
“We will start our activities immediately and starting from the next month, Trepça will be presented for the first time to the biggest conference in the world on mining and minerals, in order to reflect most of the commitments that we have taken and implement everything that was emphasized in the Law on Trepça” he said by adding that another engagement will be in socio-economic advancement of the enterprise.   
Minister Stavileci said that the review of the Mining Strategy is another activity in this sector, which also comes both as a request of the donors’ community and a necessity.  “We have 11 Zones of Special Interest and many other potentials which could be put to function, especially with the legal framework, following the entry into force of the Law on strategic investments”, he said and added that the pace of development in this sector will change, and will contribute to increase of production, economic development and creation of new jobs.
Another project in this sector is establishment of One Stop Shop in the mining sector, which will be in the interest of the private sector.  

Public Enterprises

Minister Stavileci emphasized that the main activity this year within the agenda for public enterprises will be drafting of a new law, which will reflect the modern needs that public enterprises have in relation to services that they provide for citizens of our country, but based on a proper concept of corporate governance. 
“Today I would highlight two major projects, one is already finished and will be inaugurated next month. The Water Plant in Shkabaj and another one in Badovc, from which 450 thousand consumers will benefit directly and another 500 thousand indirectly”, he said.
Likewise, according to him, another project is the interconnectivity, which is related to the Berlin Agenda, namely the project of railway linking Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia, an investment of 200 million Euros and modernization of this line which will be financed by two prestigious international institutions namely EBRD and the European Investment Bank but also other partners as well.