"Procedures related to the acquisition and implementation of the state guarantee for a 440 million euro loan from the European Investment Bank have been completed so TEŠ director Simon Tot returned his mandate to the supervisory board as of today," the company stated in a press release on Thursday.

Tot took over in 2010 to replace Simon Rotnik, who was dismissed because of faulty management of the EUR 1b-plus investment in generator 6 (TEŠ6). The replacement provoked a strike at the company as the workers believed Rotnik's sacking to have been unlawful. Tot turned to court, which found the strike illegal.

It was the new director Rosec who as the workers' representative on the supervisory board in 2011 challenged the decision on Rotnik's dismissal in court, asking it to annul the relevant 2010 decision of the board.

Rosec and former shop steward Branko Sevčnikar argued that the amended investment plan for TEŠ6 was unrealistic, of which they informed the relevant ministry and HSE, the state-owned utility operating TEŠ. The pair were given notice by Tot in May 2011. They lodged a complaint, but the court's decision is still pending.

Tot ran the company through a turbulent period amidst doubts about the effectiveness of the costly investment that was also surrounded by allegations of corruption. The previous Borut Pahor government ordered an audit of the project at the demand of the coalition partner Zares.

An audit report issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers in April 2011 found that the cost of the investment - at the time estimated at EUR 1.2bn - could continue to rise. It also found suspicious long-term contracts with five local suppliers with the same owners worth a total of EUR 50m.

Criminal investigation has been launched since into suspected corruption in the management of the project. Suspicions of corruption have also been detected by the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption. One of the problems was that the cost of the project ballooned from the initial estimate of EUR 600m.

Most recently, Tot negotiated with representatives of the main contractor working on the project, French company Alstom, who claimed that the government was protracting procedures for a loan guarantee, which was why they scaled down work on the site.

The act ratifying the loan guarantee agreement between the EIB and Slovenia finally took effect in late December 2012 after being endorsed by the National Assembly on 21 December. In line with the law, the state will guarantee the EUR 440m worth EIB loan to TEŠ.

Meanwhile, TEŠ pledged that the final price tag on the project would not exceed EUR 1.3bn and that the project would be completed in line with the schedule by 15 February 2016 at the latest, when an operating permit needs to be obtained.

TEŠ also committed to keep carbon emissions and the maximum price of coal supplies within the levels set in the amended investment plan and to ensure the project's minimum profitability.

Under the loan guarantee agreement signed with the EIB, Slovenia shall offer a guarantee for the payment of the principal and interest of up to 130% of the principal, i.e. not more than EUR 572m.

The TEŠ is expected to draw the loan at the end of January.