Ghost HPP in Kalivac

In 1997, the Albanian government licensed an Italian company (Becchetti) to build the first concessionary hydropower plant in Albania. According to the agreement, the 93 MW HPP should be complete in 2002 in Kalivac, and produce 350 million KWh annually.
The project that started 16 years ago violated three legal deadlines. In 2000 Becchetti had not started the works on terrain, and the government renegotiated the agreement with the condition to include another investor, since Becchetti had no financial guarantee. But the constructions did not start even this time.
In 2005, the new government led by the Democratic Party warned that the concession would be removed.
“I sent an almost ultimatum to the firm to reconfirm the technical and financial capacities, or we would change agreement”, Ruli declared in November 2006, then Minister of Economy.
The threat remained only a declaration. The agreement was renegotiated and the deadline was postponed until 2011. The government claimed that the agreement improved, making clear the responsibilities of each party, so that the construction would not be delayed. The state decided to expropriate and remove the license, if the company would not realize the investments.
During the negotiations, Becchetti included in the project the renowned German bank “Deutsche Banka”, which bought 45% of the shares. The inclusion of this bank increased the hopes for an end to the lies and delays. Deutsche Bank funded the works for two years, until 2009, and then left due to problems with Becchetti.
After the Germans left, the fate of Kalivac seemed sealed. The HPP remained only on paper and with many problems behind. Last year, a sub-contractual company sued Becchetti for a 2.5 million EUR due payment, saying that were not been able to pay their workers for the job done.
“They don’t pay. They lie! There’s no work to do, no money and we don’t know what will happen with us”, one of the workers declared.
The third deadline of the concession also expired and there’s no one to be held accountable. Kalivac should produce 35 million USD annually, some of which would go to the state budget. But this concession is not the first case when licensed companies withhold our national assets. There are hundreds of HPPs where works have been delayed, causing large damages to the economy, not only for the produced energy, but also for employment and money.

TOP Channel, 19.02.2013