September the 20th, 2022 - The Sisak Supernova project, worth five million kuna in total, is going full steam ahead and will last for a twelve month period.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, grants were awarded to the company Supernova projekti d.o.o. as the project holder for a project aimed at increasing the use of renewable energy sources in its shopping centres in Croatia, specifically in Sisak.

The Sisak Supernova project is otherwise being co-financed with funds from the financial mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA), which will contribute to the goals of the European Green Plan through the installation of solar power plants at the Supernova centres in Sisak.

The member companies of the Supernova group - Supernova projekti d.o.o. and Supernova Sisak West d.o.o., as well as partner company Sirius Sisak East d.o.o. are planning the implementation of three pilot projects for the construction of integrated photovoltaic power plants on the roofs of the Supernova Sisak East and Supernova Sisak West shopping centres. The realisation of the project will last for one year, and one of the main goals of is to promote the use of sustainable energy sources in the trade sector in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase the security of supply and contribute to the goals of the wider European Green Plan.

The latest investment follows the green transition of the Supernova Group and its partners through the use of electricity from photovoltaic power plants and in other Supernova centres across the Republic of Croatia where this will be possible. The project down in Sibenik has recently started being implemented, while preparatory work is being carried out at the facilities in both Karlovac and Buzin.

The total value of the latest projects at the Supernova centres in Sisak will amount to more than 628 thousand euros, or almost five million kuna. European Union (EU) funds will co-finance 41.64 percent of the total value of the project, which is slightly less than 2 million kuna, more precisely 261,564.08 euros, while the rest of the costs will be covered by the applicant's and their partners' own funds.

The Sisak Supernova project proposal envisages the construction of three integrated photovoltaic power plants, SE Sisak East and SE-1 Sisak West and SE-2 Sisak West with a total installed capacity of 722.42 kWp, which will produce 751,224 kWh/year of renewable energy. In accordance with the achieved increase in energy production from RES, the project will contribute directly to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the amount of 119.14 tCO2 per year. Thanks to the installation of solar panels, the Supernova Sisak West shopping centre will provide 30 percent, and the Supernova Sisak East shopping centre will provide 40 percent of the total required energy from renewable energy sources.

"We started with the green transition project and the transition to our own energy sources a few years ago, and I'm particularly pleased by the fact that we'll be implementing it in Croatia, an extremely important market for our business. Currently, with the energy produced on the roofs of our shopping centres, we're covering more than 35% of the energy needed for their operation and supply. With this almost five million kuna investment in Sisak and the overall implementation of the green and sustainable programme of our group, together with our project partners, we'll directly help to reduce environmental pollution and improve the quality of life in all environments and countries where Supernova centres operate. We're also going to operate in accordance with high environmental standards," said Markus Pinggera, the CEO of Supernova Group.

Shopping centres are experiencing an increasing need for electricity, thus creating huge costs when it comes to the supply of energy, which negatively affects business and the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. Guided by the principles of sustainable growth and responsible management, the Supernova Group and its project partners - Supernova Sisak West and Sirius Sisak East and the Norwegian company Apenhet, want to replace the use of conventional fuels used to operate the centres with more environmentally friendly and renewable energy sourced from the sun. The goal is to increase the share of the use of renewable energy sources in the total energy consumption.

From the very beginning, and especially over the last few years, the Supernova Group has been focused on a greener future, and the basis of their business lies in sustainable and environmentally friendly development, which is supported by the Supernova Green Dot sustainability programme. The goal of the programme is to optimise business practices and achieve complete carbon neutrality by the time we reach the year 2028. The Supernova Green Dot programme is otherwise based on LED technology, an energy efficiency programme and equipping photovoltaic power plants to produce their own electricity.

So far, 23 solar power plants have been implemented on the roofs of Supernova shopping centres in neighbouring Slovenia and in nearby Austria, and by the end of 2023, the Supernova Group plans to establish 56 new solar power plants within the group.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

September the 14th, 2022 - Spiralling inflation is causing Croatian projects, some of them long-since planned, to grind to a halt. Originally agreed upon costs have risen, leaving some wanting to shelve their plans.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, the increase in the prices of energy sources and construction materials is very much spilling over into current Croatian projects dealing with regional waste management centres (WMS). The aforementioned market trends create far more financially difficult conditions for such projects, which will obviously require more generous national funds than were originally planned for.

Otherwise, these centres and everything to do with their construction is defined by the Law on Waste Management and the Waste Management Plan of the Republic of Croatia 2017-2022, they're managed by special companies and owned by regional and local self-government units, i.e. the City of Zagreb.

That said, some of them are clearly stuck in the proverbial mud and their financial structure(s) cannot be closed properly without the intervention of the competent ministries. Such is the case of the Regional Centre for Waste Management (RCGO) in northwestern Croatia - Piskornica, this is a company of the same name whose business is run by director Mladen Ruzman, and it is facing the very real problem of a lack of money.

This is the unfortunate case in spite of the fact that after the first tender, significant interventions were made in the procurement documentation in the repeated public procurement procedure for the design and execution of the works on the construction of RCGO Piskornica.

Speaking more specifically, the estimated value of this project stands at an enormous 346.6 million kuna, and in both tenders announced in less than a year, the bids received were significantly higher than the estimated value of the project. The public opening of bids in the first public procurement procedure was held back in October 2021, and the bids received amounted to approximately 676 and 716 million kuna.

At the opening of bids in September, it can be seen that the bidder Helector S.A  Athens submitted a bid worth 820.5 million kuna, and the Association of Bidders Kostak komunalno in gradbeno podjetje d.d., Krsko i Kostak - graditeljstvo tehnologija sirovine, Zagreb, submitted a bid worth 669.8 million kuna in total.

"Although changes were made in the procurement documentation for the new procedure with an emphasis on those that reduce the conditions of technical and professional abilities in order to open up the market, and on those that reduce the risk for contractors, given the unpredictability of the market and sudden changes in material prices and energy products, the bids received in the repeated procedure are slightly lower than those received in the earlier procedure,'' they stated from the Piskornica Administration.

In addition to the available financial resources, according to the answer received from the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, the dynamics of the construction of these centres also very much depends on the readiness of the project of each individual centre for waste management, the realisation of which is the responsibility of the commercial company that manages each CGO.

So far, they claim, around 630 million kuna in grants have been spent from European Union (EU) funds for Croatian projects which deal with the preparation and construction of waste management centres, including CGO Mariscina and CGO Kastijun, which have been in operation since back in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Of the Croatian projects also currently under construction, CGO Bikarac has been constructed and all of the trial work has been completed, while CGO Biljane Donje is in the process of construction and will only be completed next year.

The planned deadline for the construction of the Lucino razdolje CGO, the Babina gora CGO and the Piskornica CGO is until the end of 2026, depending on when the contracts for the works will actually be concluded. The contract for works is expected to be signed soon for CGO Lucina razdolje, while public procurement procedures for the construction of CGO Babina gora and Piskornica are now underway.

Considering the state of the market, the competent ministry has also noted that the funds will be secured when the procurement procedure is successfully completed and the final value of the Croatian projects involved is determined through amendments to the grant award contract.

"Considering the current prices on the market, the fact of the matter is that for certain procurement procedures, offers are being received that now exceed the original estimated value of the procurement, therefore, for price increases on individual projects, which can be proven, growth will be being justified through an increase in the prices of materials and of other input parameters, consider the possibility of securing additional national funds,'' they stated from MINGOR.

For the Management of the Piskornica company, the following activities include holding a meeting with MINGOR and the Ministry of Regional Development and European Union Funds in order to agree and coordinate the next steps in the realisation of the project.

They have stated that they expect this meeting to take place as soon as possible, as well as that the beginning of the project implementation depends on this coordination with the ministries in terms of further implementation regarding the securing of funds above the estimated value, while the deadline for completion is 44 months from the date of signing the contract with the selected bidder.

For more on Croatian projects and ongoing inflationary pressures, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.