The North Macedonian government’s apparent reluctance to complete an agreement with a consortium comprised of Greek power utility PPC and construction firm Archirodon for the development of the prospective Cebren hydropower plant, at the Crna Reka river, despite cabinet approval in September, has prompted various officials to suspect the neighboring country’s administration is seeking to put a brake on the agreement.

The North Macedonian government has been calling for additional terms, while, in most recent statements, Kaja Sukova, its environment and physical planning minister, suggested the consortium would be to blame if the agreement were not completed.

The consortium is raising objections about terms being discussed, while the deadline for completing the agreement has already been extended to mid-January, the minister noted.

The dispute concerns the ordering of the project’s concession contract and issuance of a water-usage permit. Archirodon wants the concession contract to precede the permit procedure, whereas the North Macedonian government is pushing for the opposite.

PPC and Archirodon submitted the only complete offer to a tender staged by the North Macedonian government 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, expected to offer annual electricity output of between 1,000 and 1,200 GWh, is planned to 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.

A total of 13 previous tenders held since 2006 for the Cebren hydropower plant have all proved fruitless. North Macedonia is entering an election year, increasing fears of further ambiguity regarding the project agreement’s prospects.