Media Advisory

BELGRADE, SERBIA & MONTENEGRO – (February 6, 2004) The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) announces plans to award a $757,245 grant to the Ministry of Energy and Mining of the Government of the Republic of Serbia to fund a feasibility study on a proposed co-generation district heating plant in Belgrade.  The USTDA grant is an example of the agency’s commitment to assist Serbia & Montenegro in its efforts to expand power and heat generation capacity.  Since 2001, USTDA has invested over $4 million in a wide variety of activities in Serbia & Montenegro intended to assist in the country’s development.

The grant will be conferred in a signing ceremony on February 10, 2004, at 3:30 p.m.  The event will take place at the Ministry of Energy and Mining of Republic of Serbia.  The Honorable William D. Montgomery, U.S. Ambassador to Serbia & Montenegro, will sign the grant agreement on behalf of the U.S. Government.  Mr. Nikola Nikolic, Acting Minister of Energy and Mining, will sign on behalf of the Grantee.

The Ministry of Energy and Mining is interested in expanding the electricity and heat generating capacity in Serbia in order to meet the burgeoning need for power and district heating.  Toward that end the Ministry is supporting the building of a co-generation plant which with an installed capacity of between 200 megawatts (MW) and 600 MW of electricity and which would generate enough heat to add 250,000 households to the Belgrade district heating network. 

This feasibility study will allow the Ministry to choose the proper size power generation unit and will determine the economic and technical feasibility of the plant.  The Ministry would like to draw on the extensive U.S. experience in this area through the feasibility study funded by the USTDA grant.  The U.S. contractor that will be competitively selected to perform the study will review existing documentation, and make a recommendation on the most appropriate plant option as well as create a viable project implementation structure, assess environmental impacts and prepare a project information memorandum to attract potential investors to the project.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries.  The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, feasibility studies, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment.  USTDA’s strategic use of foreign assistance funds to support sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries creates an enabling environment for trade, investment and sustainable economic development.  In carrying out its mission, USTDA gives emphasis to economic sectors that may benefit from U.S. exports of goods and services. 

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