UPPER HORIZONS: Secret contracts of a “historic megaproject” that threatens to leave the Neretva without a third of its water
“Upper Horizons”: Secret contracts of a ‘historic megaproject’ that threatens to leave the Neretva without a third of its water
“Work on the ‘Upper Horizons’ project should be halted in order to carry out an updated environmental impact assessment for the entire project, including new field research and serious consultations with Croatia and the Federation of BiH. It is clear that the authorities of Republika Srpska will not do this voluntarily, which is why legal action and political pressure are crucial,” Pippa Gallop, Southeast Europe Energy Policy Advisor at the CEE Bankwatch Network, warned in a statement to Valter.
While Republika Srpska’s power utility (Elektroprivreda RS) and local authorities celebrate the breakthrough of the tunnel and announce “energy stability” within the Upper Horizons hydropower system, environmental organizations and international analyses warn that this is a megaproject that diverts water from the Neretva river basin into the Trebišnjica basin, risking the drying up of the Buna, Bunica and Bregava rivers, accelerated salinization of the lower Neretva, and further degradation of Hutovo Blato.
According to international organizations, the project’s value is already measured in hundreds of millions of convertible marks, while the final cost of the entire system—burdened by loans and state guarantees—has not been publicly disclosed and could exceed billions.
HIDDEN CONTRACTS AND DISPUTED PERMITS
In eastern Herzegovina, at the end of October, a 12.2-kilometre intake tunnel was completed, a key piece of infrastructure for the Dabar Hydropower Plant and the entire Upper Horizons system. The investor, Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske, presents this as proof that there are “no obstacles” to completing the project by autumn 2027 and spring 2028, when the reservoir is expected to be full and the plant to begin electricity generation.
The Upper Horizons project is not a single hydropower plant, but a complex hydropower system involving the construction of three large plants—Dabar, Nevesinje and Bileća—along with a network of dams, reservoirs, canals and underground tunnels across the karst fields of eastern Herzegovina. Its essence lies in diverting water from the Neretva river basin into the Trebišnjica basin, thereby altering the natural hydrological regime of the entire area.
The system was conceived as an upgrade to the already existing “Lower Horizons,” namely the Trebinje I and II, Čapljina and Dubrovnik hydropower plants, and represents one of the largest hydrotechnical undertakings in the karst regions of Southeast Europe.
“HE Dabar is the largest hydropower facility built by a public company in the territory of the former Yugoslavia in the past 35 years,” said Luka Petrović, Director of Elektroprivreda RS.
At the same time, this same “historic” project has for years produced another kind of continuity: a continuity of non-transparency, court disputes, annulled permits, appeals to international bodies, and warnings that the price could be permanently disrupted karst hydrology—from the Nevesinje and Dabar fields, through the sources of the Buna and Bunica, to the Neretva delta.
According to Pippa Gallop, the entire project is designed to divert water from the Neretva basin into the Trebišnjica basin, from where it would be channelled to planned and then existing hydropower plants near Trebinje and Dubrovnik.
“Currently, water from karst fields in Republika Srpska reaches Neretva tributaries through sinkholes and underground flows. ‘Upper Horizons’ would block or significantly reduce flow through these systems, leaving the Neretva virtually at the mercy of hydropower operators,” Gallop warns.
Vladimir Topić from the Center for Environment goes further, calling Upper Horizons “the worst hydropower project in all of Europe.”
“This is a megaproject involving three hydropower plants in an extremely sensitive karst area, at a time of climate change, when data show that more than 70 percent of rivers in the region no longer have the same flow as half a century ago. Despite this, the project relies on outdated data and plans to divert water from the Neretva basin to the Trebišnjica basin, making it one of the most problematic in Europe,” Topić told Valter.
A MEGAPROJECT—BUT FROM THE LAST CENTURY
At a mid-September press conference at the RS Government Administrative Centre, senior entity officials rejected all criticism of the Upper Horizons project, insisting that all legal procedures had been followed and that there was no cause for concern. RS Prime Minister Savo Minić said that “Republika Srpska has all the necessary permits for the Upper Horizons project,” adding that “serious investments are always accompanied by objections.”
“We fulfilled our legal obligations, and we were in court,” Minić said, downplaying expert warnings about potential reductions in Neretva water levels.
When Valter journalists noted experts’ warnings that the Neretva could lose around a third of its water, the prime minister responded by asking whether there was “any study about that,” stating that he was not interested in what “some academic” was saying.
Minić added that authorities “are not building Buk Bijela, are not building the Trebinje airport, and there always seems to be some problem with our projects,” emphasizing that equipment for three generators had already been ordered, meaning there would be “no delays,” and that operations were expected to begin in mid-2027.
“Maybe environmentalists are right, but that’s why judicial bodies exist,” Minić concluded, noting that an administrative dispute lasted four years.
RS Minister of Energy and Mining Petar Đokić added that this was a “thoroughly planned project” with a long history.
“Studies and analyses were carried out even before the war. The Upper Horizons project was developed by the most eminent experts of that period,” Đokić said, adding that documents from that time are still used today, alongside “new studies.”
“No one would embark on such a huge project if tomorrow we were to have, so to speak, a ‘ship without the sea,’ or if it were to jeopardize watercourses,” Đokić said.
The “four-year administrative dispute” referred to by Prime Minister Minić concerned only the environmental permit for HE Dabar between 2017 and 2022—not the entire Upper Horizons system. Courts addressed procedural issues related to renewing the 2012 environmental impact study, without a new comprehensive assessment or broad public participation. Substantive ecological and cross-border impacts were never examined, and a comprehensive environmental impact assessment for the entire project has never been conducted.
POTENTIALLY FATAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THE NERETVA
Academic Muriz Spahić, a prominent hydrologist and founder of the Association of Geographers of BiH, warns that the most controversial aspect of Upper Horizons is the intrusion into the Zalomka River sinkholes.
Hydrological studies show that the largest sinkhole in Nevesinje Field can absorb up to 110 cubic metres of water per second during high-water periods—comparable to the flow of medium-sized rivers.
“If Upper Horizons are realized, these springs will no longer function naturally, because the water will be diverted into the tunnel and then to the Dabar hydropower plant,” Spahić warns. More than one third of the total water from the Neretva basin would be redirected into the Trebišnjica basin—something he notes is effectively prohibited under European directives.
Similar warnings come from journalist and karst expert Ivo Lučić, who calls the project “not only risky, but far-reachingly harmful and very dangerous.”
“We are not even aware of all the ways it is dangerous, because we do not know what lies underground, nor will we ever know. Anyone who claims they do is lying,” Lučić says.
He stresses that promoting such projects today ignores everything humanity has learned about nature and human rights, adding that they deprive communities and future generations of essential public goods.
According to CEE Bankwatch Network, Upper Horizons would have significant cross-border impacts on karst rivers in the Federation of BiH and Croatia, especially the Neretva delta, which is already experiencing salinization. Hutovo Blato, a Ramsar site of international importance, could be left with even less water.
PUBLIC MONEY, CHINESE LOANS AND CONTROVERSIES
Financially, Upper Horizons is marked by extreme non-transparency and growing public risk. Gallop notes there is “no data on the total cost of the system,” while the Dabar plant alone was estimated at 661 million KM in 2021, a figure that has almost certainly increased.
Elektroprivreda RS has refused to publish contracts with the Chinese company Gezhouba and financing agreements with China’s Exim Bank, despite public guarantees backing the loans.
Republika Srpska has guaranteed a €189 million Exim Bank loan, meaning the entity would be liable if ERS cannot repay it. Meanwhile, ERS faces financial problems from aging thermal plants, disputes over Ugljevik, poor hydrology, and future impacts of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
EVERYTHING IS DISPUTED: PERMITS, STUDIES, FINANCES
Environmental activists warn of expired permits, outdated data, inadequate biodiversity assessments, and the failure to consider cumulative impacts across eastern and western Herzegovina and the Neretva delta.
In July, a serious incident at the HE Dabar construction site reportedly collapsed an underground cavern and damaged the Vrijeka spring, cutting off drinking water for parts of Berkovići and Bileća.
COMPLAINT TO THE BERNE CONVENTION
A formal complaint has been submitted to the Secretariat of the Berne Convention, alleging violations related to habitat destruction and protected species. Although RS authorities claim all procedures were followed, they admit lacking complete and up-to-date data on species and habitats at the time of approval.
Environmental groups argue that obligations under the Aarhus Convention and Berne Convention have been breached, with potentially serious implications for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU accession commitments.
BETWEEN CONSTRUCTION AND RESISTANCE—NOT OVER YET
Despite claims by RS authorities that the project is irreversible, international organizations and parts of the public insist it can still be halted or revised, particularly since the Nevesinje plant lacks concessions and permits.
“Work should be stopped to carry out an updated environmental impact assessment for the entire project,” Gallop concludes, stressing that legal action and political pressure are essential.
Source: Valterportal.ba
