Author: Jona Kaso, Xhoana Çallaku
Guri i Bardhë is part of the "100 villages" project, selected by the Albanian government to be supported financially for the development of tourism. Despite this fact and its location only three kilometers from Arbër Street, this village suffers from a lack of investment in infrastructure, tourism and agriculture. The only planned investment to date has been the HPPs, which have been strongly opposed by the residents of the area.
Residents: We expected to develop as a tourist village, but they want to leave us without water
The inclusion of Guri i Bardhë in the "100 villages" project, for the residents, represented an opportunity to preserve the historical and cultural values of the area by combining them with an increase in financial resources, with the attraction of tourists. But as they looked away from tourism, the residents were faced with another project, which envisages the construction of HPPs, which, according to them, would result in damage to the environment and lack of drinking water.
The construction of 4 HPPs in this village of Klos has left them in uncertainty. company "Gealb Energy" sh.pk through the application AN050820200003 in e-albania, requested the implementation of the project "Construction of HPP Guri i Bardhë 1 and Guri i Bardhë 2", in Guri Bardhë village of Xibër Administrative unit of Klos Municipality.
Residents of the area raise concerns that they have not been informed about this project and that the company has not held public hearings with them, despite legal obligation.
The raising of petitions for the cancellation of these HPPs has brought the villagers together to oppose their construction. Despite this, they are not sure whether these projects have really been canceled or not.
The Albanian Center for Quality Journalism addressed the National Environment Agency and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy to request the implementation plan that would apply to these HPPs and what opinion has been taken on their construction, whether they will be canceled or the design for their construction will continue. In the response dated April 19, 2021, the National Environment Agency says that the company's request for the construction of HPPs has been rejected. The company that has undertaken the construction of these HPPs has been provided with a negative environmental statement.
"The procedure followed for the review of the electronic file was carried out on the basis of Law No. 12/2015 "For some changes in the law no. 10440, dated: 07.07.2011, "On Environmental Impact Assessment" and VKM 714, dated: 06.11.2019, for some changes and additions to VKM 686, dated: 29.07.2015, "On the adoption of rules, responsibilities and deadlines , for the development of the transfer procedure of the Environmental Declaration Decision". This application is equipped with a Negative Environmental Statement, as well as the reasons and considerations held by the institution responsible for the environment, related to this projectt", says the response of KTA.
The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure did not respond until the moment of publication of this article, whether the projects to build these HPPs have been canceled or not.
According to the residents, the projects were changed one after the other, just so that these four HPPs could be built and the residents would agree. The Albanian Center for Quality Journalism possesses the data of the first project, which was presented to the residents, and then, due to their objections, this project is supposed to have been cancelled, despite the fact that these data should have been made public by the state authorities. If the public wants to get full information about them, this is impossible as long as these have not been made public in any case.
Between the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and the Entity for special purposes "Gealb Energy" sh.pk, created by the Temporary Union of Companies "Sina 98" shpk, "Besland" shpk and "Albmërkuri" shpk, a concession contract of the form " BOT" (Construction-Operation-Transfer) with No. 1139. & No. 437/3 Kol, dated 21.04.2017, for the construction of the "Guri i Bardhë" hydropower plant. Pursuant to the aforementioned contract, HEC "Guri i Bardhë" will use the hydropower potential of the streams of Zalli i Dishi and Shehu, branches of the Mat River, Dibër District, with the following characteristics:
- HEC "Guri i Bardhë no. 1” • Quota of the acquisition work = 453 m mnd
Quota of the power plant building = 356 sq m • Installed power = 1410 kw
- HEC "Guri i Bardhë no. 2” • Quota of the acquisition work = 861 m mnd
Quota of the power plant building = 454 sq m • Installed power = 5,110 kw
- HEC "Guri i Bardhë no. 3” • Quota of the acquisition work = 1051.2 m mnd
Quota of the power plant building = 862 sq m • Installed power = 2,285 kw
In implementation of the concession contract, the company "Gealb Energy" sh.pk, on 11.09.2017, submitted to MIE the implementation project of hydropower plants, which the Ministry sent to the National Agency of Natural Resources for the State Technical Opposition. After carrying out the Technical Opposition on the hydropower project implementation, AKBN has submitted to the MIE the Report of the Technical Opposition Group, expressing itself as follows:
"There is a reduction in the number of hydropower plants:
HEC "Guri i Bardhë no. 1"
- Quota of receipt no. 1 (Shehu stream) = 1043 m asl
- Quota of receipt no. 2 (Dish stream) = 856 m asl
- Quota of the power plant building = 602 sq m • Installed power = 5,360 kw
HEC "Guri i Bardhë no. 2" • Quota of receipt no. 1 (Shehu stream) = 603 m asl
- Quota of receipt no. 1 (branch of the Dis stream) = 538 m above sea level
- Quota of receipt no. 1 (branch of the Dis stream) = 524 m above sea level
- Quota of the power plant building = 361 m mnd • Installed power = 3,940 kw”
The Technical Opposition Group regarding the impact on the environment expressed as follows:
"In the EIA report, the impacts on the environment have been analyzed and the technical and organizational measures have been determined and recommended to mitigate the negative factors that appear during the excavation and construction works, as well as those that are created during the exploitation of these hydropower plants."
There are no hearings with the public, the petition has not been answered for 2 years
Asked when they were informed that a HPP would be built in their village, the indignant residents of the village of Gur i Bardhë say that they were informed after the project had been completed.
To stop what they call destruction, they raised petitions with 350 firms which they addressed to state institutions such as: the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, the Prime Minister's Office and the Presidency. They say that they have not received a response from any institution after submitting the petition. The petition was submitted two years ago.
One of the reasons that the National Agency for Environmental Protection has denied the construction of HPPs is, among others, the lack of public hearings. The environmental statement states that "The Prefect of the Dibër District has forwarded to the Regional Directorate of the Environment of the Dibër District, a petition of the residents of the villages of Gur i Bardhë and Petralbë, N.A. Xibër, Klos Municipality, Dibër District, where their concern and opposition to the construction of HPPs in Gur di Bardhë is clearly expressed. During the review of the In-depth EIA Report, among others, one of the criteria that is taken into account is the process of consultation with the public, as an obligation that comes from VKM no. 686, date: 29.07.2015".
The HEC affects private property, but the residents have no information about compensation
Residents say that various representatives of the company have presented various projects to build HPPs and pipe water. Bilal Kolgjini, is one of the residents of this village and says that no consultation was done with the residents.
"There was no information from the company, neither the name of the company, nor the owner, they did not tell us any information from those who want to build it. No public hearing was held with the residents. We have heard it as word of mouth in the village, from the rumors of the residents. The public hearing was held in 2019. We are still in danger of not building this hydropower plant. We are aware that they want to build four hydropower plants and not one", he says.
Osman Boda, another resident, says that the project has also brought division between them. According to him, the residents of the village of Guri Bardhë were not informed by the company in question or by any of their representatives about the construction of this HPP, but they heard it secretly. "We heard it secretly, we gathered and discussed to oppose this project and why some under the rug agreed. We have also drafted a petition, but we have not yet received any information on how far the work on this petition has gone. The land where they want to build this HPP affects the land owned by the residents", said Boda.
Asked what consequences the construction of this HPP causes, Boda replied that not only living things are damaged, but 5-6 families are left without irrigation water.
"From this water that they want to take for the construction of the HPP, there are 5-6 houses that take water for irrigation, which not only harms living things, but has an even wider negative effect. Things go by chain." he said.
The one who has most opposed the construction of these HPPs is the village headman, Resul Baleta, who says that he will not allow any HPPs to be built in his village. Asked when they heard that they want to build HPP in this village, he said "this project started as planning in 2017, but I discovered it in 2019".
In relation to this, Baleta states that for the ban on the construction of this hydropower plant, he has drawn up a petition, then sent it to several relevant institutions, but according to him, only the Ministry of Environment has responded.
"I made the petition to the United Organization, the Ministry of Environment and Infrastructure, the Ombudsman. Only the one from the Environment gave us an answer, which stated that it does not disrupt our work. How can a HPP be built in this village when the village does not have a doctor, the people are without bread. They talk about the construction of HPPs, aren't they ashamed?", said the headman of Baleta village.
Likewise, another resident of this village, Hysen Boda, insists that the company has not presented the project. This resident still sleeps and wakes up with the fear that this HPP will be built. "Once they told us that it was canceled, then they told us that they will do it again, we as residents have no security at all, we cannot trust them, where the construction of this hydropower plant is being talked about, it is private land, even if they want to build it, they don't have us said nothing about whether the property owners will receive compensation or not." he said.
"An area without water is a dead area", experts against HEC
Two environmental experts, Olsi Nika and Abdulla Diku, also spoke about the ecological consequences of the environment against the construction of this HPP. Nika has listed a number of negative consequences that the construction of the hydropower plant brings to the environment and living things. He started this reasoning in the first place by describing the diversion of water that will be used for this Hydropower plant, mentioning the natural streams of Dish and Shehu, which diverts a part of the water from the natural bed during 355 days of the year. "The limited amount of water that will flow through the village will have a direct impact on the amount of water that residents use to irrigate their horticultural and horticultural crops, as long as there is no detailed local plan for the village of Gurë i Bardhë, the construction of HPPs cannot be allowed, which would conflict with the interests of the community and the territorial planning documents for the Klos Municipality", he said.
Meanwhile, the environmental expert Abdullah Diku says in relation to this topic that "an area without water is a dead area, as it does not bring any good to the community". He lists a series of negative consequences, starting from the reduction and lack of drinking and irrigation water to the damage to the ecosystem, the diverse world of fauna and flora, then living things and erosion. But it can be seen that, like the expert Nika and Diku, they are strongly aware of the negative impact of the construction of the HPP in the protected areas, since according to them the government, on the one hand, defines these areas as tourist villages, and on the other hand, allows the construction of hydropower plants in the heart of theirs.
"An even greater impact of HPPs is seen in protected areas and in 'tourist villages'. This is because on the one hand the government tends to promote these areas as 'elite areas', while on the other hand it allows the construction of HPPs in their heart, thus turning them from potential areas for the development of tourism and therefore rural , in environmental 'hot-spot' areas due to the negative environmental and social impacts that these HPPs carry throughout their existence". Diku expressed, among other things.
Company!: "Establishment of HPPs does not damage any Protected Natural Assets!"
In order to get a clearer answer about the construction of these HPPs, the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism addressed the company "Gealb Energy" Shpk, to ask about the residents' claims that they were not consulted about the project and about the damage to the environment. The company "Gealb Energy" Shpk rejected the negative environmental impacts.
"The project does not cause damage to the environment, on the contrary, it would help to develop the infrastructure of the area, social life (through the employment of residents). The implementation of this project does not in any way affect the life and property of the residents, as well as guarantees the ecological flow for the flora and fauna in the course of the streams and the flow necessary for agriculture for irrigation purposes. is said in response. The company also says that it has conducted public consultations and for this there is a document signed by them. "Public hearings were conducted with the residents of the villages where the footprint of this hydropower plant passes and who may be affected by the development of this project. The public hearing document is dated June 25, 2019, signed by the residents participating in this consultation with the public, among which was also signed by the representative of the Municipality. And those residents who do not agree, did not participate in our public hearing and did not express their opinion in the public hearing document, but complained in other ways. Furthermore, these residents are not residents of the village where the project is located, and many of them are not even residents of the surrounding areas, but are residents of other cities and outside Albania.
While the Ministry of Environment as a competent institution stated that there was no information about the location of the construction of this HPP to give a concrete answer about the damage that will be done in a Natural Protected Area. After we once again explained the exact location for the construction of this HPP, until the publication of this article, we did not receive a second response from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
In the absence of knowledge of the project, of the damage they anticipate will have economically, in the environment and their desire to develop as a tourist village, the residents say that they will defend themselves to the end and will not allow the water of that village to is taken and put into the pipes. But the designs of the residents are different from the designs of the company that aims to build HPPs, therefore they should wake up and face the "threat" of the construction of 4 HPPs.
