The North Macedonian government’s cabinet has approved the prospective Cebren hydropower plant, at the Crna Reka river, a project awarded to Greek power utility PPC and construction firm Archirodon, in partnership for its development.

PPC and Archirodon submitted the only complete offer to a tender staged by the North Macedonian government’s environment ministry for the construction and operation of the 333-MW Cebren hydropower plant and operation of an existing 116-MW Tikves hydropower station, also at the Crna Reka river, in the country’s southwest.

The Cebren hydropower plant, planned to offer annual electricity output of between 1,000 and 1,200 GWh, will involve the neighboring country’s state-owned power producer ESM as a minority partner with a 33 percent stake. The project’s cost is estimated to reach one billion euro.

The PPC-Archirodon consortium must establish an agreement with ESM within three months, before beginning work on the project, expected to take seven years. The consortium also needs to complete a relevant study and secure necessary permits.

A total of 13 previous tenders held since 2006 for the Cebren hydropower plant had all proved fruitless.