Five years will have passed at the beginning of next year since the government led by Robert Fico “in(voluntarily)” took over the operation of the Gabcikovo hydropower plant from the power utility Slovenske Elektrarne and handed it over to the state-controlled company Vodohospodarska Vystavba. Then ruling officials repeatedly justified this move, saying that the general overhaul was necessary. Allegedly, Slovenske Elektrarne with the Italian shareholder Enel at the helm refused to carry it out. Then Prime Minister Robert Fico and his ministers claimed that only the state was capable to carry out the urgent general overhaul of the Gabcikovo hydropower plant so fast. However, the overhaul has not taken place yet. The international tender for the supplier of this project was announced three years ago, in September 2017. The Gabcikovo power plant is still in operation despite the non-existent renovation. Vodohospodarska Vystavba refused to comment on the ongoing tender for the time being. The company did not specify when the tender could come to an end. “It is impossible to provide further information on public procurement or the repeated assessment of the bids as the procurement for the order Gabcikovo – Nagymaros Dams, Gabcikovo – general overhaul and renovation of the Gabcikovo hydropower plant is still in progress and the transparency must be foremost “ Simona Holovic from Director General’s Office of Vodohospodarska Vystavba informed the vEnergetike.sk portal.
Full story in Slovak: Akútna generálka Gabčíkova stále nezačala. Ani sa nevie, kedy začne
