Yesterday, at the hearing in the Commercial Court regarding the lawsuit brought against the state by the company "Hydra" due to the construction of two small hydropower plants (mHe) on the Bukovica river, a decision was made to engage an economic and financial expert. Srdjan Pupovac, whose task will be determined by the court later. The continuation of the discussion is scheduled for the end of October.
In October 2018, "Hydra" received building permits for the construction of two MHE on the Bukovica River, the investment of which was estimated at 9,2 million euros. The consortium consists of four companies that filed the lawsuit: "Hydra", "IMP", "Igma Energy" and "Hydra MNE", whose owners Milovan Maksimović, uncle's brother Milo Đukanović, his partner John Gordian i Igor Masovic. They are seeking compensation in the amount of three million euros, the amount they have invested so far, as they claim, as well as lost profits and other costs that will be determined by experts.
Pupovac was nominated for economic and financial expertise by the deputy lawyer "Hydra" Ana Tadic.
The representative of the state emphasized that she believes that from the expert's letter Rada Šćekić it follows that there is a reason for his exemption, so he does not object to the court appointing Pupovac.
Judge of the Commercial Court Vladimir Bulatović stressed that Šćekić was exempted from the expert testimony and that the decision was not appealed. That's why the court made a decision and appointed Pupovac for this job, whose task will be determined later, while the continuation of the hearing is scheduled for October 24.
In October 2019, this consortium complained to the Government that it had problems with the local population who opposed the construction, after which the Government tasked the then Ministry of Economy to start negotiations with this concessionaire on the mutual termination of the contract. However, the concessionaire refused to conclude the annex, so he still had the obligation to respect the previous contract. The deadline for the completion of the construction expired on October 26, 2021, which they did not fulfill, but the day after that, they filed a request for termination of the contract at the expense of the state and a lawsuit through a lawyer. Meanwhile, the Government Zdravka Krivokapića at the beginning of that year unilaterally terminated the contract with them, which Hydra did not legally accept.
According to an earlier report by "Vijesti", eight concessionaires of small hydropower plants sued the state until September of last year, and in case of losing the disputes, the damage would be at least 60 million euros, and could be more than 100 million.
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