Chinese companies devastate the Neretva delta, Herzegovina could become a saline desert

Recently, construction has begun on the “Pošćenje” dam, which will be part of the Dabar hydroelectric power plant (HPP), one of the three planned HPPs under the old Upper Horizons project, which has recently been restarted despite numerous warnings from locals and the non-governmental sector about the damage it will cause. Suspicious Chinese companies continue to work non-transparently, contracts are not accessible to the public, and the implementation of these projects threatens the devastation of natural resources and ecocide. Authorities show no concern.

In line with previously initiated processes in constructing facilities as part of the megaproject Upper Horizons, controversy surrounds the start of the “Pošćenje” dam construction due to the lack of environmental studies, opaque contracts, and the involvement of Chinese investors.

Documents regarding the hydroelectric plant construction contracts are not accessible to the public, raising suspicions of hidden interests and corruption. Authorities withhold contract details, leaving the public and residents uninformed about the project. The main contractor selected is “China Gezhouba Group Co. LTD”, after a consortium disqualified for undisclosed reasons, consisting of “China National Electric Engineering Co. Ltd” from China and “RIKO” from Slovenia, filed a complaint with the Bosnia and Herzegovina Complaints Office, alleging predetermined selection of candidates for the next phase.

China Gezhouba Group Co. has a history in the region and, along with two other Chinese companies, was involved in the construction of the Počitelj Bridge (a segment of the Počitelj-Zvirovići highway), where fake documentation was allegedly submitted according to Fokus magazine.

The Foundation Atelje za društvene promjene (Foundation Atelier for Social Changes) – ACT also expresses dissatisfaction with the lack of transparency, hindering the monitoring of potential ecological and social impacts of the project. Activists argue that authorities in Republika Srpska often refuse to disclose contracts with Chinese companies, fueling doubts about the legality and morality of their actions.

“In this case, concerning the controversial Upper Horizons project hydroelectric plants, only scant information is available regarding a few details of the concession agreements. The majority is inaccessible to the public, which is not good practice”, says Azra Berbić, an activist from the Foundation Foundation Atelier for Social Changes – ACT.

Berbić finds it absurd that information about contracts for projects financed by Chinese or other foreign banks, including contractors like those involved in the Upper Horizons project worth hundreds of millions of euros, is kept from the public.

Due to such business practices, activists from the Center for the Environment, together with colleagues from the Arhus Center, have filed lawsuits, citing insufficient public participation.

“Over the past years and decades, the public has not been adequately involved in the process. Certain permits have expired and were merely extended based on previous permits. For some, there was no new procedure as there should have been. For example, if it concerns a building permit that expires after five years, a new procedure must be conducted to obtain a new building permit involving local communities and residents”, explains Vladimir Topić from the Citizens’ Association “Center for the Environment”.

Recall that on the last day of 2021, the Government of Republika Srpska signed a secretive financing and construction contract for the Dabar hydroelectric power plant, part of the Upper Horizons megaproject.

“We still lack clear indicators of what is concealed in those contracts, what is perhaps mortgaged and priced. When it comes to financing, should we note that in recent years, Chinese companies and banks have financed this project?” adds Topić.

For the tunnel contractor, the well-known winner of almost all construction tenders in Republika Srpska, “Integral inženjering” from Laktaši, was selected. This company now belongs to the daughter of one of the wealthiest businessmen in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slobodan Stanković, who was sanctioned by the United States along with Integral inženjering A.D. Laktaši, due to allegations of corruption and close ties to Dodik.

According to a statement from the US Treasury Department, Stanković and his company were linked to corruption in the construction sector.

“Large construction projects were often awarded to Stanković without fair and open competition. Most of Stanković’s wealth comes from public funds”, the statement added.

Stanković is also noted as the former owner of the previously sanctioned Alternative Television (ATV), under the personal control of a “corrupt member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, who was also earlier included on the US list, whose secessionist rhetoric and actions related to RS threaten stability and undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA)”.

Non-transparent Processes of Expropriation

In non-transparent processes of expropriation, some residents have received compensation for their lands up to the dam, but they continue to live in uncertainty facing the possibility of abandoning their homes. Many of them still do not know, nor has anyone assured them, whether they will have to leave their homes.

“I started to build. I’m sorry to move from here. We’ve been here for 50, 60, I don’t even know how many more years. We still don’t know if we’ll have to move. If the dam is close to the riverbed, maybe we won’t have to. We still don’t know anything”, says Ranka Čolović, a resident near the dam in Nevesinjsko Polje, in a statement to Spin info.

“There are still certain doubts among the local population who simply do not have a clear picture today of what will be submerged tomorrow, whether their land will be submerged, to what extent it will be submerged, and whether the expropriation process has been completed, at what prices. Many citizens felt they were, so to speak, deprived of the entire procedure. Some had their land bought through expropriation, others did not. For some, it was purchased at a much higher price than for others, so the whole process is very suspicious and, we must say, non-transparent by the competent institutions”, says Vladimir Topić from the Citizens’ Association “Center for the Environment”.

In addition to non-transparent processes in land expropriation, the project has been marred by numerous other irregularities. Much is questionable, from the quality of the study to the relevance of the documents cited by the builders.

“Firstly, documents over 50 years old have been used, certain studies, assessments of this project, how valid they are. Should it be noted that this is an old project, even planned to be realized in the former Yugoslavia during the 1950s and 1960s. Today, in recent years, this project is still in force due to these old studies. And secondly, most importantly, certain contracts and partnership agreements concluded for the implementation of this project are still shrouded in secrecy“, Topić adds.

Currently, aside from activists and the media, no one is focused on halting the plans of the electro-energy lobbies that could turn fertile Herzegovina into a saline desert.

Berbić notes the significant influx of Chinese investments in our region over the past few years. Bosnia and Herzegovina even signed a cooperation memorandum with China in 2016 aimed at enhancing foreign investments from China into our country, resulting in an increasing presence of Chinese investments, particularly noticeable in Republika Srpska.

“What matters to these companies, as well as many other foreign companies coming from Europe, is profit and market penetration, not only for economic reasons but also for geopolitical ones. All Chinese banks investing in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s energy or infrastructure projects are state-owned. Looking at the projects Chinese banks and companies have invested in so far, such as the Buk Bijela hydroelectric power plant, thermal power units in Tuzla, and the Upper Horizons project confirm this. For these companies, what matters is profit and gaining a foothold in our primary energy market, not environmental concerns”, emphasizes Berbić.

Activists are not surprised by the attitude of Chinese companies towards Bosnia and Herzegovina’s natural resources.

“We all need to be aware that this is the era of capitalism. And the era of capitalism means only money. Money. And that’s the end of the story”, says Adnan Đuliman, president of the New Wave Association, in an interview with SPIN Info.

While Chinese companies will eagerly count their millions in profit, behind them will be devastation and megalomaniacal projects that will forever alter the ecosystem of parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“In the end, it’s not surprising that Chinese companies do not care about environmental protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The survival of their citizens in a specific area, the right to water, a healthy environment, and the right to life are not endangered by the realization of such projects, but rather those of our fellow citizens. However, the problem lies in the fact that our authorities are implementing these projects”, concludes Berbić.

Apart from suspicions regarding the legality and transparency of the Upper Horizons mega-project construction processes, it threatens to devastate the fertile part of the Neretva River and completely alter this landscape.

“The entire concept is based on diverting waters through tunnels and canals from Gatačko and Nevesinjsko polje, across Dabar and Fatničko polje, into the Bilećko Lake reservoir for energy exploitation. In other words, vast amounts of water will be ‘stolen’ from the Neretva watershed and redirected into the Trebišnjica watershed. This will involve reducing water inflows into the Buna, Bunica, Krupe, and Bregava rivers by at least 30% and negatively impacting the flora and fauna of these river systems. Consequently, it will lower water levels in the lower Neretva

River, potentially allowing significant seawater intrusion further into Herzegovina, possibly reaching the Buna canals”, states Berbić.

However, authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina are not concerned about these dire forecasts. On the contrary, they take pride in projects that threaten the destruction of natural resources and ecocide.

“What concerns us is that the political authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina pay very little attention to this entire issue, and another concern is that the Republic of Croatia is not addressing this issue at all. We already have information that saline water has begun to infiltrate, almost reaching Čapljina, affecting some wells, and causing significant issues with water supply and use in Metković”, says Đuliman.

He adds that the project’s realization would be catastrophic, benefiting only individuals while leaving lasting consequences for citizens and nature.

“If infrastructure projects are crucial for individuals who enrich themselves at the expense of draining the entire Neretva valley, then this planet is heading in a completely wrong direction”, remarks Đuliman.

The project will not only alter human lives but also change the habitats of numerous species.

“There will also be a significant impact on Hutovo Blato, where a large number of birds reside. A reduction in water inflow means vegetation will increase around Hutovo Blato, reducing water levels and altering the habitat for the many birds that inhabit the area”, confirms Robert Oroz from Eco Gotuša Fojnica, who has been on-site and verified the extensive involvement of Chinese and Bangladeshi workers.

He warns that redirecting water from the Neretva watershed to the Trebišnjica watershed will decrease water levels at the sources of rivers in Herzegovina.

“No one can definitively predict what will happen afterwards, but one thing is certain – the situation will no longer be the same. Ethically and practically, it is certainly not right to transfer water from one watershed to another”, expresses Oroz.

Thus, the entire area faces an ecological disaster, with evident impacts on endemic species that exist exclusively in these regions. Topić alerts that the project will also affect protected natural monuments.

“For instance, the third-category natural monument Velika Pećina near Bileće municipality, located adjacent to the Fatničko polje where the tunnel will be constructed. This is something not mentioned in official impact assessments and studies. Furthermore, authorities do not plan to consider the cumulative impact of all these projects as a whole”, emphasizes Topić.

It is certain that the “Pošćenje” dam on the Zalomka River, situated in Nevesinjsko polje, will divert water to the Dabar hydroelectric power plant, valued at over 600 million BAM. This is just one of many diversions planned through tunnels and canals to accumulate water from Gatačko and Nevesinjsko polje, across Dabar and Fatničko, into Bilećko Lake for electricity production.

The lack of transparency in the Upper Horizons project and the role of Chinese companies pose serious implications for the environment and local populations. Therefore, activists urge citizens to join them in upcoming activities, public campaigns, and monitoring efforts of Chinese company operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina to ensure compliance with ecological standards and laws.