Skopje, 22 August 2025 (MIA) – We’re making efforts to fix the Gjavato hydro system in order to make it fully operational and functional, announced Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski on Friday after overseeing works to rehabilitate the hydro system. 

“We’ve detected spots where there are cracked pipes, which were supposed to bring the water to the pool, from where the water will be taken to Lake Dojran with other pumps,” said Mickoski, adding that for three or four years the hydro system, built almost two decades ago, had been operating with a broken pipeline.

The pipes will be fixed, he added, thanks to a socially responsible company. “It is expected in the coming several days. The capacity of water that will come to the reservoir will be increased, from where it will be redirected to the lake by other pumps,” the prime minister added. 

According to him, two well submersible pumps with a capacity of 100 liters per second are operating out of a total of ten with a total capacity of 1,000 liters per second. 

“In the coming period, we plan to equip at least four pumps, and then two more, which we believe will meet the needs so that Lake Dojran can soon get the look it deserves so that all citizens can use it,” stressed Mickoski

Farmers who water their lands as well as the town of Bogdanci, which is supplied with water from the hydro system in the summer, will benefit from it, he added. 

Mickoski also announced that the thrust pumps that push the water towards Lake Dojran are being repaired.

“In the coming session, the government will pass a decision allowing the Equipment and Parts Factory within REK Bitola to dismantle, repair and reinstall two of the thrust pumps. I received information from the engineers that they can dismantle, repair and reinstall them in ten days. Solar panels will be installed soon on this land, which is state-owned, because the electricity bills are 2.5 million euros per year. By installing solar panels with an installed capacity of about two megawatts and battery systems of four megawatt hours, the bills will be dramatically reduced, and the funds that will be saved will be used to maintain the pipeline and the Gjavato hydro system,” said Mickoski.

Photo: MIA