According to the River Watch organization, German Development (KfW) Bank has confirmed that it has withdrew from the project for the
construction of hydropower plant Janjici on the Bosna river and will not provide financing for the project.
The 30 million euros loan agreement between the KfW Bank and state-owned power utility EPBiH was signed in 2014. The funds were intended for the construction of 13.3 MW hydropower plant Janjici, with estimated annual electricity generation of over 68 GWh. The project was included in EPBiH’s 2021-2023 business plan.
The plant would involve a 16-meter high dam and flood a part of the river with a series of rapids upstream from Zenica in central Bosnia. The HPP would be the first major barrier to stop the migration of fish from the Danube and Sava.
So far, 109 small hydropower plants have been built in Bosnia and Herzegovina, of which 65 are in the Federation (FBiH) and 44 in the Republic of Srpska (RS). According to environmental organizations, the construction of an additional 345 SHPPs is planned.
