Albania’s Skavica hydropower project to be examined by Constitutional Court

Albania’s controversial but yet-to-be-built Skavica mega-dam, which threatens some 41 villages in the north of the country, will be reviewed by the country’s highest court following a constitutional complaint by a coalition of energy and environmental NGOs.

The 210 MW Skavica hydropower plant is earmarked for the municipalities of Kukes and Diber, and while there is no information on exactly which parts of the region will be impacted by the creation of the dam and reservoir, it risks affecting up to 41 villages and 2,500 people.

Concerns have been raised for years over the lack of competition in awarding the project to US construction giant Bechtel, as well as issues relating to corruption, viability, and impact of the dam on the area.

“By circumventing open procurement and competition, this deal raises risks of possible corruption and doubts about the project’s value for money. It also undermines the meaningfulness of the environmental and social impact assessment,” fears Andrey Ralev, Biodiversity Campaigner at CEE Bankwatch Network.

On Thursday, a constitutional complaint filed by the Albanian Helsinki Committee and the Black Drin Association, with support from EuroNatur and CEE Bankwatch Network, was accepted for trial.

The decision to hear the case is significant as only 15% of all cases submitted to the Constitutional Court are considered admissible, and they rarely consider those by civil society organisations.

The tender was awarded to Betchel in July 2021 without any known tender procedure and the passing of a special law in parliament which specifically named the company.

In addition to the lack of transparency, NGOs lament there is still no official information about the construction process or where it will be located. Some four scenarios are under consideration according to Albania’s state energy company, with the largest including the construction of a 147-metre-high dam and a reservoir with a capacity of 2.32 billion cubic metres.

“With 41 villages and more than 2,500 houses in Dibër municipality threatened by the project, Skavica’s social impacts may be among the worst of any dam built in Europe in the 21st century. Residents have been fighting against Skavica for years. The vast majority doesn’t want the dam,” says Majlinda Hoxha, coordinator of the Group of Rural Activists of Dibra.

NGOs have also sounded the alarm over the impact on local flora and fauna, particularly the endangered Balkan lynx.

“The dam would disrupt the only bio-corridor between Albania and North Macedonia where the two remaining viable reproductive lynx populations cross,” says Dr Amelie Huber, Freshwater Project Manager at EuroNatur.

“Skavica would also flood what could be Albania’s largest floodplain forest, meaning that an array of biodiversity and habitats and a huge carbon sink would be lost. These impacts invalidate any argument that Skavica would drive green and climate-friendly energy development,” concludes Huber.

The dam would flood the last free-flowing stretch of the Black Drin River, which flows from Lake Ohrid in North Macedonia to the Adriatic Sea. It would submerge much of the historic region of Dibra, which, while remaining impoverished, is emerging as a hub for ecotourism and organic farming.

Meanwhile, the cost of the project has increased significantly to over €1 billion, but financing is yet to be secured. The NGOs say that Betchel has gained notoriety for its involvement in various unsuccessful and overpriced projects, often awarded without tender processes.

Prime Minister Edi Rama said the power plant will boost Albania’s electricity production by 20%, promising those displaced by the project new homes and new job prospects.

(Alice Taylor | Euractiv.com)

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