Early Warning System

Countries

Serbia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Proposed

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Dec 4, 2024

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

Government of Serbia - Ministry of Finance

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Infrastructure
Law and Government

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Loan

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 100.16 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 90
Converted using 2024-09-16 exchange rate.

Project Cost (USD)

$ 116.52 million

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Sep 19, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Sep 16, 2024

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
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Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the project consists of the provision of a sovereign loan of up to EUR90 million to the Republic of Serbia ("RoS"), represented by the Ministry of Finance ("MoF") for the benefit of Novosadska Toplana Novi Sad (the "Company" or "Novi Sad DHC"), the district heating company of Novi Sad, 100 per cent owned by the City of Novi Sad. The Project will be implemented by the Company in coordination with the Ministry of Mining and Energy ("MoME") and the City.

The proceeds of the loan will be used to finance the construction of a large-scale solar-thermal plant in Novi Sad with 38,600 m2 of solar collector fields, a seasonal heat storage, heat pump and an eBoiler (the "Project"). The Project is part of the Green Cities Window 1 Framework ("GrCF2 W1 Framework") and is included the Green City Action Plan ("GCAP") being developed by the City. Through the GCAP, the City identified, and is currently prioritising, its most pressing environmental challenges with targeted investments and policy actions to address them.

The Project is envisaged to be co-financed with an investment grant to be provided by the European Union ("EU") through the Western Balkans Investment Framework ("WBIF").

Project Objectives:

- Contribute to an efficient, reliable and environmentally-friendly heat supply for households, public institutions and businesses in the city of Novi Sad through the provision of base heat energy capacity to the district heating ("DH") network of Novi Sad from solar thermal technology.

- Support Serbia's efforts to decarbonise its district heating sector.

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

Categorised B (Environmental and Social Policy (ESP) 2019). Key E&S risks and impacts associated with construction and operation of a thermal solar plant including a seasonal pit storage and connection to the city for district heating include land issues (this will be confirmed during ESDD), OHS procedures for contractors, labour management, community safety, disruptions to supply of heat and hot water to the community and public access, design safety, landscape/visual issues, cultural heritage and stakeholder engagement.

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

A sovereign loan of up to EUR 90 million to the RoS, for the benefit of the Novi Sad DHC.

Total estimated project cost is €104.7 million.

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

The Borrower is the Republic of Serbia , represented by the Ministry of Finance while the client and beneficiary is Novi Sad DHC, 100% owned by the City of Novi Sad.

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION

Dusan Macura
dusan.macura@nstoplana.rs
+ 381 21 4881 230
www.nstoplana.rs
Vladimira Nikolica 1 21000 Novi Sad Serbia

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html