The World Bank Group’s new Country Private Sector Diagnostic identifies regulatory barriers holding back investment in Kosovo and recommends targeted reforms in solar and wind electricity generation, business services and building components manufacturing. Together, these reforms could attract an estimated USD 1.2–1.5 billion in private investment and create 61,000–87,000 direct and indirect jobs over five to 10 years. For solar and wind generation at utility scale, investors need greater certainty about who will buy their electricity. Priorities include adopting a multiyear auction schedule and operationalizing liquidity guarantees for transmission system operator KOSTT under the country’s 2025 Rule on the Renewable Energy Support Mechanism. These reforms could mobilize USD 1 billion in private investment by 2035. Kosovo aims to increase renewable energy’s share of installed electricity generation capacity to 63% by 2031, from 23% in 2024. Business services face constraints from labor regulations, skills shortages and unreliable electricity. Recommendations include specifying requirements for remote and hybrid work contracts, standardizing labor inspection checklists and legally recognizing electronic signatures for private commercial contracts. Building components manufacturers face costly and unreliable electricity, opaque land markets and cumbersome construction permitting, alongside skills and financing constraints and weak enforcement of product standards. Proposed reforms would standardize agreements granting infrastructure use rights over the long term and expedite industrial construction permits. They would also require structured practical training for vocational certification in building components manufacturing and introduce inspections of manufactured products based on risk.

Original source