Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska (RS) Radovan Viskovic said that RS is prepared to file a multimillion lawsuit against Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) if it continues to obstruct the realization of hydropower plant Buk Bijela project.
PM Viskovic said that, despite the attempts to obstruct the project, its realization is progressing as planned and it is expected to start the construction of the dam next spring, adding that, given the current electricity prices on the market, the investment of some 250 million euros in the HPP would be repaid in just three years.
He said that the BiH Concessions Commission has no jurisdiction to evaluate concessions awarded within RS.
Last July, the Constitutional Court, deciding on a petition signed by 24 members of the BiH Parliament’s House of Representatives to resolve a dispute between BiH and RS over the HPP project, issued a partial decision on admissibility. The BiH Concessions Commission was instructed, in its capacity as a joint concessions commission, to resolve any disputes arising in connection with the award of concessions no later than three months from the date of delivery of this decision. However, the Commission failed to adopt any decision, even after two deadline extensions.
In early 2021, FBiH representatives made a complaint to the BiH Constitutional Court. The complaint states that the RS Government has no right to award concession for the cross-border river, which should be issued by the BiH Concession Commission. RS is developing the project with neighboring Serbia and the founding stone for the project was laid in May 2021.
