The Energy Corporation of Kosovo (KEK) has officially awarded a major industrial contract for the project “Supply and Replacement of Fills (Honeycombs) in the Cooling Tower of Unit A4 at TPP Kosova A.” This capital investment is aimed at restoring structural integrity and thermal efficiency to the power plant’s critical industrial cooling systems.
Procurement Details and Financial Breakdown
The open procurement procedure concluded with a winning bid that came in just under KEK’s maximum projected budget.
- Final Contract Value: €487,104
- Initial Projected Budget: €499,966
- Fiscal Savings: €12,862 below the planned ceiling
- Selection Criterion: Lowest compliant bid
- Total Bids Received: 4 competing tenders
The lucrative contract was awarded to a consortium of economic operators comprising Bahri Asllani, SPIG S.P.A., and Ekoinvest Sh.P.K.
Technical Context: The REKO PRAHA System
The cooling tower of Unit A4 is a cornerstone of the central industrial cooling infrastructure, which operates within the reconstructed REKO PRAHA technical framework at the facility.
[Industrial Cooling Loop: TPP Kosova A (Unit A4)]
Hot Process Water (From Turbine Condenser)
│
▼
┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ A4 COOLING TOWER │ <── Air Flow (Natural/Forced Draft)
│ (New Honeycomb/Fill Layer) │
└──────────────┬───────────────┘
│
│ *Thermal Exchange Occurs Here*
▼
Cooled Water Recycled Back into Plant System
During routine, periodic technical inspections, engineers flagged significant structural degradation within the internal elements of the tower. This damage is a textbook operational byproduct of three distinct mechanical stressors:
- Long-Term Operational Wear: Years of continuous usage in baseline power generation.
- Chemical Corrosion: Unrelenting exposure to treated industrial water carrying aggressive chemical additives.
- Severe Thermal Loads: Constant structural expansion and contraction caused by extreme heat fluctuations during power cycles.
The Scope of Work: Why “Fills” Matter
The core of this engineering intervention relies on replacing the internal fills (often referred to as honeycombs).
In industrial cooling towers, these honeycomb structures are vital because they drastically maximize the contact surface area between the hot process water exiting the plant and the ambient air moving through the tower. By replacing these worn-out modules with brand-new fills, KEK will optimize water distribution, lower process water temperatures effectively, and prevent unplanned, costly shutdowns at Unit A4 during peak electricity demand.
