Solymos: Gabcikovo Power Plant Needs Repairs Worth €144.5 million

Gabcikovo, October 25 (TASR) – After more than 20 years in operation the Gabcikovo Hydroelectric Power Plant (Trnava region) on the Danube River needs some repairs that will cost more than €140 million, stated Environment Minister Laszlo Solymos (Most-Hid) on Wednesday.

Solymos was speaking in Gabcikovo after an away-from-home Cabinet session on Wednesday with Vice-premier for Investments and Informatisation Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) and state-owned Water Management Construction Company general director Daniel Kvocera in attendance.

The Cabinet at its session marked the 25th anniversary of the plant.

“After 25 years in operation, of course, the Gabcikovo plant is set to undergo major modernisation processes, namely general repairs and the reconstruction of the hydroelectric power plant, including repair of the turbines, which will take some ten years, as well as the innovation and modernisation of the lock chambers at the Gabcikovo plant,” said Solymos.

The environment minister went on to say that 85 percent of the repairs will be co-financed by EU funds, as the project is currently among the largest transport projects of its kind within the EU.

“… The estimated costs of this particular project amount to some €144.5 million,” said Solymos.

He further stated that between October 1992-December 2016 the Gabcikovo turbines generated more than 54 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity. Producing energy in this way has greater benefits than producing it from coal, nuclear fuel or from any other non-renewable energy sources, said the minister.