The Czech-owned electricity provider of Sofia and Western Bulgaria CEZ plans to invest a total of BGN 59 M in its network and capacities in 2011.

The CEZ investments only in the Sofia District will be BGN 16.5 M, the company said in a statement.

On Thursday, CEZ opened a new power substation near the town of Kostinbrod close to Sofia, while being a small town, is a hub for several manufacturing plant of Bulgarian and foreign investors.

"The clients are the main priority for our company. We invest constantly within our program to improve our quality and security. To achieve this goal we cooperate actively with the local authorities," declared Petr Dokladal, Regional Manager of CEZ for Bulgaria, and a former Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Sofia.

In 2010, CEZ invested BGN 66.8 M for rehabilitation, modernization and development of the electricity grid on the territory that it serves; it completed 8 200 investment projects.

The company says that in the six years since it acquired the electricity utility in 2004 it invested BGN 434.6 M in its network and power grid.