Kosova Airlines Seeking Partners to Achieve Ambitious Growth Plans

KOSOVO
Energy & Mining
Ministry of Energy and Mining
Infrastructure Development: The
Minister Has Ambitious Plans to
Improve the Country’s Infrastructure
Indeed, whether you look at the country’s mineral deposits
and mining capabilities or the requirements for power plant
roll out and an increase in capacity of many hundreds of
Mega Watt (MW), it is abundantly clear that the prospects
for investment in the country are strong. The government is
keen not to squander these opportunities and is offering a
variety of methods to get the most efficient, cost effective and
value added use out of these deposits and infrastructure.
In the mining sector, mines can either be acquired through
the ongoing privatisation process or re-energised and
re-modelled by entering joint ventures with private owners.
In the energy sector, Kosovo has embarked upon the path
to a new power plant called Power Plant New Kosovo, and
an associated lignite mine which when completed will be
the largest ever private investment in Kosovo’s history.
The government has set the ambitious target of starting
operations in the first unit of the new plant in the period
starting from 2013 to 2014. It becomes clear why this is such
a pressing concern when one contemplates that Kosovo
would increase its GDP by an estimated 17% or 220 million
with the addition of a further 1,000 MW to its capacity in this
short period.
The prospective growth for the country through this sector
is therefore clear. Here, ET, talks to Minister of Energy
and Mining, Justina Pula-Shiroka, about the opportunities
and challenges facing the sector. From the relative
values of established mines to untapped mineral deposits
and exploration, Justina Pula-Shiroka sees a central role
for mining in Kosovo’s future. The Minister also talks
about what makes Kosovo such an attractive proposition
which goes beyond resources beneath the earth to those
above it, namely human resources and the young dynamic
population.
ET: How important is the mining sector for Kosovo’s
economic development in general
J. Pula-Shiroka: The mining sector is a key sector for the
development of Kosovo. Kosovo is very rich in minerals and
has a long experience in the mining industry which helps
to attract many investors. Moreover, we are offering to the
interested companies several incentives to enter the Kosovo
market. We have several old, pre-existing, functioning
mines with over a numerous qualified mine workers and
employees. One of these has already been privatised. The
mining sector has attracted considerable British and US
investors and is open to foreign investment.
ET: What are the major challenges facing the mining
industry
J. Pula-Shiroka: Well, we had a problem with the older
mines where the licenses had passed their expiration date.
Some of these mines were also in need of restoration.
However, having said that, with regard to the older mines,
we expect the levels of interest to be higher because they are
more attractive for investment given that they are already
established and have an operating history. We believe the
time will come when these mines receive the necessary
investment. Some of them are very promising for investors
as they have higher returns.
ET: What are the planned investments for the next
five years
J. Pula-Shiroka: The government is planning
development of several interest zones of metallic mines.
Actually, there are ongoing activities in preparing
feasibility studies for these interest zones, in order to
follow-up with respective bidding procedures.
ET: What would be your personal message to our
European investors
J. Pula-Shiroka: The European investors are definitely
very welcomed in Kosovo. I am certain that they
will encounter here friendly social and business
environment. I am sure too that they will find here
more competitive prices than elsewhere in region,
and transparent procedures of bidding. I am glad to
remind the interested parties that we have here well
educated young population, skilled in communication
skills, particularly with English speaking people.
Looking at the mining sector specifically, there is
great potential to mine lead and zinc, gold, copper
and nickel amongst other nitrate deposits. On top of
this, ongoing exploration continues to unearth new
deposits.
53