Renewable District Energy Serbia

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Overview

Provision of a sovereign loan of up to EUR 30 million to the Republic of Serbia (the "Client") to finance investments in Renewable District Energy ("ReDE") in several District Heating Companies ("DHCs") across the country, and accompanying energy efficiency measures including reconstruction of substations and existing district heating network (the "Project").

The Project will support integration of solar-thermal, heat pump, and geothermal technology in existing district heating ("DH") systems in ten cities in Serbia (Pancevo, Vrsac, Kraljevo, Nis, Bogatic, Becej, Krusevac, Novi Pazar, Paracin and Kragujevac). The sub-projects were assessed and selected through the Renewable District Energy in the Western Balkans Programme ("ReDEWeB") established by the EBRD in 2019. ReDEWeB was set up in partnership with the Government of Austria to incentivise reforms and create an enabling environment for financing ReDE investments in the Western Balkans.

The Project is expected to be co-financed by investment and technical assistance grants from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs ("SECO") and European Union under the Regional Energy Efficiency Programme ("REEP").

Project ID 53021

Status Disbursing

Location

Serbia

Business Sector

Municipal Infrastructure

Notice Type

State

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Company Contact Information

Milan Macura
milan.macura@mre.gov.rs
(+381) 11 3604410
https://www.mre.gov.rs/en
Ministry of Mining and Energy, Nemanjina 22-26, 11000 Belgrade

Project ID 53021

Status Disbursing

Location

Serbia

Business Sector

Municipal Infrastructure

Notice Type

State

Environmental Category

Approval Date

01 Nov 2023

Disclosure date

22 Sep 2022

Project description

Project objectives

DH systems in Serbia depend almost exclusively on fossil fuels. The Project aims to support decarbonisation of the DH systems by introducing 115 GWh of produced renewable and waste heat, which is expected to provide significant environmental benefits and contribute to energy security. Most of the ReDE technologies envisaged under the Project will be applied for the first time in South-Eastern Europe. In addition, the Project is accompanied by an ambitious policy dialogue package related to further DH sector development, including the development of a regulatory framework to stimulate further investments in ReDE generation.

Transition impact

ETI Score:80

Primary quality: Green

The expected transition impact of the Project is derived from Green quality through i) introduction of green innovation through the integration of ReDE technologies which will be applied for the first time by EBRD and DH systems in South-Eastern Europe, and ii) development of policy dialogue on DH sector development and decarbonisation. The Project will have vast environmental benefits including carbon emission reduction of c.14,600 tCO2e p.a., significant water and energy savings, and air quality benefits for local communities. As a result of the Project, total heat generation from renewable and waste sources in Serbia is expected to rise from 1.5 per cent to c. 3.3 per cent.

Client information

SERBIA SOVEREIGN

The Borrower is the Republic of Serbia represented by the Ministry of Finance. The Project will be implemented by the Ministry of Mining and Energy ("MoME").

EBRD Finance Summary

EUR 30,000,000.00

A sovereign loan in an amount of up to EUR 30 million.

Total project cost

EUR 37,500,000.00

Total Project Cost of up to EUR 37.5 million is expected to be financed as follows:

EBRD loan financing - up to EUR 30 million;
Investment grants from SECO and EU REEP - up to EUR 7.5 million.

Additionality

Financing structure: The EBRD offers financing that is not available in the market from commercial sources on reasonable terms and conditions.

Risk mitigation: EBRD helps the client to mitigate carbon transition risks and take climate action, such as to move along a low carbon transition pathway.

Standard-setting: helping projects and clients achieve higher standards: The client seeks/makes use of EBRD expertise on best international procurement standards and higher environmental standards.

Knowledge, innovation, and capacity building: EBRD provides expertise, innovation, knowledge and/or capabilities that are material to the timely realisation of the project's objectives, including support to strengthen the capacity of the client.

Environmental & Social Summary

Categorised B (2019 ESP). The environmental and social impacts associated with this Project are generally site specific and can be readily managed. Due diligence has been carried out by independent consultants, with sub-projects split into two groups. For each group, the relevant consultants carried out an environmental and social appraisal of the proposed investments and assessed the Environmental, Health and Safety ("EHS") and Human Resources ("HR") management systems of the operating companies. Non-Technical Summaries ("NTS"), Stakeholder Engagement Plans ("SEP") and Environmental and Social Action Plans ("ESAP") or Environmental and Social Management Plans ("ESMP") have been developed for each group of sub-projects.

The Project involves the upgrade or re-design of ten DH systems across Serbia. The Project will deploy a variety of technologies and renewable and waste heat sources, including geothermal, solar, biomass and waste-heat recovery. Implementation is estimated to result in CO2e savings of over 14 thousand tonnes per year and water savings of over 58 thousand cubic meters per year. The reduction in the use of natural gas and fuel oil will also have air quality benefits for local communities and should improve the reliability of the heating supply.

While the overall environmental and social impacts of the Project is positive, there are some risks that will need to be managed during implementation and operation. Implementation for each group of sub-projects will be supported by a Central Project Implementation Unit (CPIU). The ESAPs set out actions for environmental and social management of the overall project and also contain some measures related to specific sub-projects. The Project will also be required to implement the Stakeholder Engagement Plan, including operating a grievance mechanism. EBRD will monitor implementation of these commitments though annual reporting by the CPIU.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Pre-signing:

TC1: Rapid assessment study. The TC supported high level technical and financial assessment of various project opportunities in several municipalities and prioritised the needs for policy interventions.
TC2: Support for Project Preparation. The TC is supporting MoME in coordination with DHCs/ municipalities, review of the consultancy reports, and policy initiatives.
TC3: Technical, Financial, Environmental and Social Due Diligence.

Post-signing:

TC4: Project Implementation Unit (the "PIU") Support and Supervision.
TC5: Policy dialogue support: Support for Transposition of Article 14 of Energy Efficiency Directive for Serbia and Preparation of an Action Plan.
TC6: Policy dialogue support: Decarbonisation Roadmap for the District Heating and Cooling Sector in the Republic of Serbia.
TC7: Policy dialogue support: Structuring the Process of Expanding the District Heating System, Connecting Additional Consumers, and Shutdown of Boiler Rooms to Reduce CO2 Emissions and Air Pollution.

Company Contact Information

Milan Macura
milan.macura@mre.gov.rs
(+381) 11 3604410
https://www.mre.gov.rs/en
Ministry of Mining and Energy, Nemanjina 22-26, 11000 Belgrade

PSD last updated

20 Sep 2023

Understanding transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with the EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and its associated Environmental and Social Requirements (ESRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the ESRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation, and to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about the environmental and social (E&S) performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD also requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts of projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and compliance

The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all of the Bank's activities in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The EBRD believes that identifying and resolving issues in the project assessment and approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts andhelps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is further responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, either within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. OCCO will follow-up all matters reported. It will review all matters reported. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (for example, through the client’s project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the mechanism is: to support dialogue between project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or the project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate and how to submit a Request for review. Alternatively, contact IPAM by email at ipam@ebrd.com for guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

Our story

How we invest in changing lives

What we offer for businesses

Search

Renewable District Energy Serbia

Overview

Project timeline

Company Contact Information

Project description

Project objectives

Transition impact

Client information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total project cost

Additionality

Environmental & Social Summary

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

PSD last updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)