18 September 2020

The Nenskra hydropower plant in Georgia’s Svaneti region has been found to be ‘non-compliant’ with a series of standards required by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), two of the project’s major investors...

In 2018, the CEE Bankwatch Network together with Georgian non-governmental organisation Green Alternative filed reports that have been investigated by the compliance mechanisms of both institutions. 

The reports submitted by these mechanisms have found that there has been ‘non-compliance’ with regard to indigenous issues, broader environmental and social impacts, land acquisition, involuntary resettlement and economic displacement, cultural heritage, information disclosure, and stakeholder engagement...

The villages of Chuberi and Nakra, populated by indigenous Svan communities, have been holding protests against the dam for years..

The declaration issued by the [community] council demanded that the builders of dams recognise Svans as indigenous people who exercise customary rights to the land — something that the initial environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) for Nenskra did not...

A field investigation conducted by the CEE Bankwatch Network in the Nenskra and Nakra valleys found direct evidence that as a result of the dam’s construction, over 200 people will lose either their homes or the land and pastures that they use...

The construction of the Nenskra Hydropower Plant has been on hold since the construction company, Salini Impregilo, left the project in October 2018.

[refers to Nenskra Hydro, K-water, Gamma Consulting; incl. response from Gamma Consulting]