Environment

Government cancels contracts for 30 hydro plants

Published

April 24, 2015

Country

Comments

0

Share

Published:

April 24, 2015

Country:

Comments:

0

Share

Licenses for the construction and use of 30 power plants throughout Albania were cancelled by the country’s government for their „failure to meet obligations,“ after members of the European Parliament called on it to reconsider the plans. Prime minister Edi Rama’s cabinet earlier scrapped several such systems that were approved in the last meetings of Sali Berisha’s government, Independent Balkan News Agency said in a report.

In a draft resolution on Albania’s progress towards the EU on April 15, the European Parliament has called on the country’s government to reconsider plans for the construction of hydropower plants in the country’s protected areas, including the current building of a plant on the Lengarica river in the south, citing environmental concerns, Balkan Insight news site reported. The Tirana prosecutor’s office had earlier launched an investigation.

The European Parliament urged the Albanian authorities to develop comprehensive management plans for existing national parks with respect to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) World Commission of Protected Areas’ quality and management guidelines for protected area category II, says an amendment to the draft resolution from MEP Tamás Meszerics from The Greens–European Free Alliance.

“It urges the authorities to abandon any development plans devaluating the country’s protected area network and calls for the abandonment of small and large-scale hydropower construction plans inside all national parks in particular; demands to especially re-think the plans to build hydropower plants along the Vjosa river and its tributaries, since these projects would harm one of Europe’s last extensive, intact and near natural river ecosystems,” the amendment adds.

Meszerics’ colleague from the Greens group, Igor Šoltes, who presented the amendment during the European Parliament foreign affairs commission’s hearing on Albania’s resolution, underlined that the Lengarica project was the only one of the 43 projected hydro projects on Vjosa under construction.

The hydro plant poses a serious environmental risk to the Lengarica canyon, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) claimed in November. The plant is being financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the commercial arm of the World Bank, and is being built by Enso Hydro of Austria through a local subsidiary – Lengarica & Energy.

Related Articles

Southeastern European countries gsci rank sustainable competitiveness

Here’s how Southeastern European countries rank in sustainable competitiveness

18 November 2023 - Scandinavian countries are ranked the highest in GSCI, but even they have a long way to go to becoming truly sustainable and competitive

Rio Tinto files nine lawsuits against Serbia

Rio Tinto filed nine lawsuits against Serbia

15 November 2023 - Rio Tinto’s Serbian subsidiary Rio Sava has submitted nine lawsuits against the Government of Serbia over the suspension of the Jadar project

cbam transitional phase western balkans turkey

CBAM transitional period: What it means for exporters to EU and how they can meet requirements

15 November 2023 - To get a better picture of what lies ahead for exporters to the EU, we have talked to lawyers and energy experts

North Macedonian Eko-svest new law power plants fertile land

North Macedonian NGO warns new law is set to allow power plants on fertile land

09 November 2023 - Eko-svest opposes changing the Law on Agricultural Land in North Macedonia to allow power plants on fertile land