Dariali hydropower plant project, Georgia
May 2, 2014
The Georgian company JSC Dariali Energy has requested a loan of up to USD 80 million from the EBRD for the 108 MW Dariali hydropower (HPP) project. The project involves the construction of a derivation-type HPP on the Tergi river in the municipality of Kazbegi. The project will divert water from the town of Stepatsminda towards the powerhouse close to the border with Russia, leaving eight kilometres of river without a sufficient amount of water.
Environmental and social impacts of the Khudoni hydropower project in Georgia
March 31, 2014
The report summarises the findings from a fact-finding mission to villages in the Svaneti region of northwestern Georgia that will be impacted by the Khudoni hydropower project. During the visit 250 people were interviewed, of which around 160 were women.
‘Fools and liars’ – major new report slams mega-dams, as tensions rise over Georgia’s Khudoni project
March 20, 2014
A new report published on March 10 by a team of researchers from the University of Oxford, based on the largest ever study of large hydroelectric dams (245 in 65 countries) has found that in most cases large dams are economically not viable and few, if any, will realise their planned benefits. The study assessed the costs, construction time, and benefits of all large dams built around the world since 1934, and further concluded that the severe cost and construction delays that so often dog large dams (defined in this research as those that exceed 15 metres in height) mean they can be seriously damaging to the economies that attach so much hope to them.
Georgian Ministry of Energy orders use of force against local protesters who fear landslides from hydro construction
March 14, 2014
Last weekend, the Georgian Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources again left no doubt about where its main interests lie: enforcing the massive exploitation of Georgia’s hydropower potential despite and against people’s concerns and if necessary by use of force.
Promoters of mega-dam in Georgia use front group and PR campaign and discredit local community
February 27, 2014
Georgian public opinion backs the village of Kaishi in the Georgian mountains that defiantly defends its land and tradition against the planned Khudoni dam. The project promoters have now embarked on an all-out promotion campaign including a fake non-governmental organisation.
Georgian hydro projects are a test case for the EBRD’s good governance policies
February 12, 2014
As activists pointed out at a consultation meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia’s hydropower sector has plenty of lessons to be learned by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
[Campaign update*] Georgian government and investors reject Ombudsman’s offer to mediate in controversy over Khudoni mega dam
February 6, 2014
The growing antagonism between promoters of the Khudoni hydropower plant project in Georgia and their local opponents from Kaishi is unlikely to ease when the investor and the Georgian Ministry of Energy boycott mediation by Georgia’s Ombudsman.
EBRD set to backtrack on environmental and social safeguards
January 22, 2014
A draft released yesterday of the Environmental and Social Policy of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development shows that, instead of strengthening the policy to provide for better implementation, the bank opens several loopholes which ensure that approval of financing is achievable for problematic projects.
EBRD environmental policy breaches on hydro plants confirmed by internal investigation
January 13, 2014
The EBRD has failed to properly assess 3 hydro projects it has approved for financing in Macedonia, Croatia and Georgia, according to bank internal investigations initiated after formal complaints by Bankwatch member groups. NGOs caution that, more than mere slips, these improper assessments are a symptom of what could be called bankers’ overconfidence – that is, a tendency to assume that all environmental damage can be ‘managed’, which from a business point of view is much more convenient than admitting that some projects simply should not go ahead.
UPDATED: Six months and counting… EBRD silent on investigations into its own operations
December 3, 2013
Is the EBRD deliberately dragging its feet on publishing investigation reports on large hydropower plants in Georgia, Macedonia and Croatia?
