The dispute over "Slatina" received an expert, the designer was heard

Economic and financial expert Borka Boričić is in charge of the expert opinion in the dispute between the company "BB Hidro" (BBH) and the state, which was initiated by the private company for compensation of damages and lost profits for the construction of the small hydroelectric power plant (MHP) "Slatina" on the river of the same name. The task of the expert will be determined later by judge Marija Adžić.

That is the epilogue of today's hearing on this dispute in the Commercial Court, during which the executive director of the company "Permonte" Bojan Bošković, who worked on the main project for the MHE "Slatina", was heard.

Previously, auditor Ljubomir Bošković and private company co-owners Ivan and Slaven Burzanović testified.

The company "BBH", co-owned by Blažo Đukanović, the son of former president Milo Đukanović, is seeking compensation from the state for damages and lost profits, because they were prevented from building the small hydroelectric power plant (MHP) "Slatina" despite the fact that they are entitled to from 2017, an energy permit was issued for it. The value of the dispute should be determined by an expert.

Judge Adžić scheduled the continuation of the dispute for April 10.

The company BBH believes that the state has damaged them because in 2021 the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism (MEPU) rejected their appeal, i.e. confirmed the decision of the urban and construction inspector who stopped the approval procedure for the construction of a small hydroelectric power plant.

In May 2015, BBH asked the then Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism to obtain urban planning and technical conditions (UTU) for the construction of MHP. The department, which was then managed by Branimir Gvozdenović, rejected their requests, with the explanation that no hydrological research was done for the watercourse of the river Slatina, with the emphasis that it is necessary to do a location study. At the beginning of 2017, BBH again submitted requests for UTU, which were then issued.

Duško Marković's government then made a decision to determine the public interest in the expropriation of real estate for the construction of the "Slatina" HPP, which stipulated that the Real Estate Administration would expropriate 600 square meters of land owned by local families in the cadastral municipality of Raško - Mioska and thereby enable the realization of the project.

In December 2020, BBH submitted an application to the urban planning and construction inspection for the construction of "Slatina", after which the inspector stopped the verification process of the submitted construction application with the explanation that the work group is waiting for the completion of the procedure control procedure and the legality of the concluded concession contracts for small hydropower plants formed at the Ministry of Capital Investments.

In May of the same year, MEPPU, headed by Ratko Mitrović, rejected BBH's appeal and confirmed the decision of the urban and construction inspector. In mid-January 2021, the government of Zdravko Krivokapić agreed to stop the approval procedure for the construction of small hydropower plants, including "Slatina".