WB: Kosovo Government cannot be the owner of lignite

Prishtinë, 29 November 2006 – Sources told Koha Ditore that the World Bank will not allow the Government of Kosovo to become owner of lignite. “The letter of the World Bank indicates clearly that no company can get the assets of KEK without a compensation, given that KTA is in charge of supervising the POEs,” the source said. Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mining, Agron Dida, said the lignite company would be owned by the Government and will have three decisionmaking bodies: the Shareholders General Assembly, Board of Directors, and the Management.

Sources also told Koha Ditore that the Minister of Energy and Mining, Ethem Ceku, has already started negotiations with big world banks for loans in order to invest in Sibovc. “It is likely that the Deutsche Bank and the World Bank will give us loans,” the source inside MEM told Koha Ditore. According to Koha Ditore, KEK is buying land in Sibovc. KEK officials confirmed this, while Dida said they are buying land in Hade, not in Sibovc.

The exploration and exploitation licenses, would be issued by the Independent Commission for Mines and Minerals (ICMM) and not the Government, said Dida.

ECIKS