Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Minister Branko Bacic, declared on Tuesday that a procedure has been initiated to declare the building permit for a hydropower plant on the Una River null and void.

However, he advised caution and said that such a decision will likely be challenged in the Administrative Court or elsewhere.

That is why we are holding daily meetings with Hrvatske vode, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition and the State Inspectorate to examine all the circumstances that could lead to the construction permit being declared null and void,” Bacic told the press.

Numerous shortcomings in the permit

He recalled that his ministry examined the final building permit issued by the competent administrative authority of Zadar County and found numerous shortcomings in the permit. Regarding revocation or cancellation of the permit, he said that the Ministry was forced by the expiry of the deadline since the final permit was issued.

Bacic also recalled that the State Inspectorate had halted the construction of the hydropower plant on the Environmental Protection and Green Transition Nature Protection Institute of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transformation because no assessment of the ecological feasibility of the project had been carried out.

The results showed that the construction at the source of the Una River was damaging the environment and the source itself, and that the operation of the hydropower plant would exacerbate this damage.

The planning permission contained serious flaws

Bacic pointed out that this project was included in the spatial plans of Zadar County and the Municipality of Gracac ten years ago, after it had gone through all the necessary procedures, without being criticised at the time.

“Since there were no objections at the time and the plan came into force and became final, it served as the basis for issuing the building permit. However, the planning permission itself contained serious flaws that would have led to its immediate revocation had it not become final and had two years not passed since it became final.”

Marija Vuckovic, Minister of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, said that the aim was to restore the area in question to its original state and expressed confidence that this would be possible.

On Monday, the State Inspectorate said that it had initiated administrative proceedings against the investor of the hydropower plant on the Una River, prohibiting the company from further construction work on the 160 kW “Una-mlin” plant.