Photo: EPS
The environmental impact assessment study shows that the construction of the Buk Bijela hydropower plant on the Drina river in Bosnia and Herzegovina won’t impact Montenegro, according to Dušan Živković, Chief Executive Officer of Elektroprivreda Srbije, who spoke at a public discussion in Plužine, Montenegro, on the project’s cross-border impact.
The Gornja Drina hydropower project consists of Buk Bijela (93 MW), Foča (44 MW), and Paunci (43 MW). It is a joint investment of Serbia-based Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) and Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske (ERS), a power utility owned by the Republic of Srpska, one of the two political entities of BiH.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Buk Bijela project on the Drina river near Foča was launched in 2021. Non-governmental organizations from BiH and Montenegro have raised objections regarding its environmental impact.
A public discussion was organized in Plužine as part of the procedure for assessing the project’s cross-border impact. Three weeks ago, a public hearing was also organized in Foča.
Živković: Our task is to utilize the potentials that nature gave us, while maximizing environmental protection
“Experts and scientists have provided clear answers that this project can be realized while preserving natural values. Our task is to utilize the potentials that nature gave us, while maximizing environmental protection, and to leave a valuable and useful legacy for future generations,” Dušan Živković stressed, according to EPS.
The environmental impact assessment (EIA) study was produced by a consortium of ViZ zaštita from Banja Luka, Energoprojekt Hidroinženjering from Belgrade, the Institute for Water Management from Bijeljina, and ECO Energy Consulting from Podgorica. It provides a detailed overview, analysis, and protection measures for the construction and operation of HPP Buk Bijela.
Danilo Mrdak, a member of the team that conducted the study and a professor at the University of Montenegro, explained that the preparation for construction, the works and operation of the Buk Bijela won’t have an impact on the Durmitor national park and Piva nature park. This is the result of the assessment of the project’s cross-border environmental impact on Montenegro, Mrdak added.
Mrdak: No negative impacts on the water regime of the Tara river
There are, in his words, no negative impacts on ecosystems, flora, fauna, public health, surface and groundwater, nor on the water regime of the Tara river, beyond the existing impact of the Piva Dam.
“It’s time to start looking at projects as something that should be implemented, instead of viewed negatively in advance,” Plužine mayor Slobodan Delić underscored.
He recalled that the municipality has a reservoir and a hydropower plant on its territory. For more than 50 years of operation, the Piva hydropower plant has brought many benefits to the local community, he added.
Of note, in mid-2024, representatives of Montenegro and BiH agreed, as part of efforts to resolve the dispute over HPP’s cross-border impacts, to conduct a new environmental impact assessment study.
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