The project company HES Gornja Drina has submitted a request to the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology of the Republic of Srpska (RS) for a Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment for the construction of the Buk Bijela hydropower plant. This facility is planned to have an installed capacity of 118.1 MW and an average annual production of 354.31 GWh. The proposed site is located in the municipality of Foca, within the Upper Drina region.
The construction of the Buk Bijela dam and hydropower plant is expected to take 4 to 5 years, with trial operations of the generators scheduled for the latter half of the fifth year. This project is a joint venture between the state-owned power utility ERS and Serbian EPS, with an estimated value of €250 million. EPS will provide 51% of the funding, while ERS will contribute 49%, reflecting their respective shares in HES Gornja Drina.
Buk Bijela is part of the broader Upper Drina hydro project, which includes plans for two additional hydropower plants to be developed collaboratively by Serbia and the RS. The foundation stone for Buk Bijela was laid in May 2021 by the Prime Ministers of the Republic of Srpska and Serbia, Radovan Viskovic and Ana Brnabic. However, the project has faced ongoing disputes that have continued to hinder its progress.
To prepare the Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment, HES Gornja Drina has engaged Energoprojekt Hidroinzenjering Beograd, which worked alongside subcontractors ViZ-Zastita Banjaluka and the Water Management Institute of Bijeljina to develop the necessary documentation.
