• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Bankwatch

  • About us
    • Our vision
    • Who we are
    • 30 years of Bankwatch
    • Donors & finances
    • Get involved
  • What we do
    • Campaign areas
      • Beyond fossil fuels
      • Rights, democracy and development
      • Finance and biodiversity
      • Funding the energy transformation
      • Cities for People
    • Institutions we monitor
      • European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
      • European Investment Bank
      • Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
      • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
      • EU funds
    • Our projects
    • Success stories
  • Publications
  • News
    • Blog posts
    • Press releases
    • Stories
    • Podcast
    • Us in the media
    • Videos

Home > Publications > A case study on the Beli Kamen and Komalj hydropower plants on the Crni Rzav and Ribnica Rivers in Serbia

A case study on the Beli Kamen and Komalj hydropower plants on the Crni Rzav and Ribnica Rivers in Serbia

A case study on the Beli Kamen and Komalj hydropower plants on the Crni Rzav and Ribnica Rivers in Serbia

Komalj small hydropower plant, Photo: Nataša Milivojević

Study    |    22 April 2021

Download

The small hydropower plants Beli Kamen and Komalj are built on the Crni Rzav and Ribnica Rivers of the Drina basin in western Serbia. Both plants are interconnected, as they use water from the same intakes and were financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) via a loan for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and priority projects made to the financial intermediary Crédit Agricole Srbija AD Novi Sad. The investor in Beli Kamen and Komalj is Zlatiborske elektrane Ltd., registered in Čačak, which has plans to build a third plant, Peta, just below Komalj.

However, the plants are located in the Zlatibor candidate Emerald site, proposed in 2006, and in Zlatibor Nature Park, which was established as a protected area in 2017. This case study details the results of a hydrobiolodical study conducted on the rivers to assess the impact of the hydropower plants, finding that the plants have seriously altered the rivers’ ecosystems and damaged their environmental status. The case study notes flaws in the environmental assessment and monitoring processes that allowed for the plant to be constructed and operate unhindered, as well as raises questions about the EIB’s role in ensuring envrionmental standards during the construction and operation of the plants.

 

Download
Institution: EIB

Theme: hydropower plant | financial intermediaries

Location: Serbia

Project: Protecting rivers and communities in southeast Europe

Tags: EIB | Hydropower plant | Serbia | financial intermediaries

Never miss an update

We expose the risks of international public finance and bring critical updates from the ground. We believe that the billions of public money should work for people and the environment.

More about our work

More about us

STAY INFORMED





Footer

CEE Bankwatch Network gratefully acknowledges EU funding support.

The content of this website is the sole responsibility of CEE Bankwatch Network and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

Unless otherwise noted, the content on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 License

Your personal data collected on the website is governed by the present Privacy Policy.

Get in touch with us

  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • YouTube