The construction stage of Ptolemaida 5, main power utility PPC’s plan for a new lignite-fired power station in Ptolemaida, northern Greece, has taken one step closer to starting following PPC’s submission of technical details to local authorities for a building permit.

The project’s construction is expected to be given the green light by regional building authorities within the next ten days. PPC reportedly submitted over twenty file boxes of technical documents for the authorities to examine.

Theoretically, PPC may be in a position to begin construction work on the project by the end of this month.

However, it should be noted, financing issues remain unresolved. They include an obligation by PPC to provide a deposit of 200 million euros to the project’s consortium just several days after the construction permit has been issued by authorities, based on a project agreement. Otherwise, its content will be nullified, meaning that PPC would miss out on extremely favorable financing terms agreed to with German banks for the project.

PPC contends the project’s deposit amount is not an issue and will be paid on time.

Besides the plan to construct Ptolemaida 5, an effort is also being made to reactivate and prolong the life of Ptolemaida 3, an old power station at PPC’s Ptolemaida facilities. It incurred minor damages during a fire that broke out last November and devastated an adjacent power station, Ptolemaida 4. Production Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis recently forwarded a letter to the European Commission requesting permission to reactivate Ptolemaida 3.