The Slovak energy never-ending story goes on. The Gabcikovo hydroelectric power plant awaits a new tender, about the fourth in a row. More than ten years ago, the second government of Robert Fico, when it „forcefully“ took over the largest hydroelectric power plant from Slovenske Elektrarne, shouted that the overhaul of the Gabcikovo power plant was urgent. It probably wasn’t that urgent, since the power plant in southern Slovakia produces electricity even without a major overhaul, only after partial repairs. The state-owned enterprise Vodohospodarska Vystavba will try to find the main contractor for the modernization and innovation project of the Gabcikovo hydroelectric power plant in an international tender.
This is the second international tender during the current government’s term. The first one, announced sometime at the beginning of last year, was canceled by the management of the state-owned enterprise at the beginning of this year. The reason was supposed to be „serious risks related to the subject of the contract for technological equipment, which is part of the Gabcikovo hydroelectric power plant, which were not known to him at the time of the public procurement announcement.“ We should know the winner of the current international tender sometime in the fall, at the end of this year. Interested parties can apply for the contract until August 11, and the evaluation of the tender will take some time. The state plans to sign a contract with the winner of the tender for about nine years. The estimated value of the contract is already 371 million euros. The fact that the current government has upgraded it to a significant strategic investment should also help start the modernization of the Gabcikovo hydroelectric power plant. The state-owned enterprise Vodohospodarska Vystavba, which is an investor in the aforementioned project, has applied for the issuance of a certificate of strategic investment.
The government agreed to this, and so the investment project „Innovation and modernization of the Gabcikovo hydroelectric power plant“ became a strategic investment and its implementation is therefore in the public interest. The project should therefore have an easier path to implementation. The new management of Vodohospodarska Vystavba, installed after the current government took office, announced an international tender again at the beginning of last year. The Minister of the Environment, Tomas Taraba announced the public procurement together with the then-designated Director General of the state-owned enterprise, Jana Jezikova. According to the minister, the renovation of the turbines at the Gabcikovo hydroelectric power plant is an absolute priority. In January 2024, the then head of the state-owned enterprise, Jana Jezikova, assumed that the international tender could be evaluated within one year. The state-owned enterprise extended the deadline for submitting bids four times, but the tender was still not successfully completed.
