Grmoja calls for the urgent halt of the project in the Republic of Srpska that threatens the Neretva Valley

Most’s parliamentary representative Nikola Grmoja called on Thursday evening Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić to try to stop the Upper Horizons project in the Republic of Srpska, which, he warns, has already increased the salinity of the Neretva in the areas of Opuzen and Metković, and now also in the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the municipality of Čapljina.

I urge the Prime Minister and the Minister to take action and try to stop further construction of this project, to conduct an environmental impact assessment in Croatia, and to protect the Neretva Valley and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose agriculture is also threatened by this project, said Grmoja in the Croatian Parliament after requesting a break.

>>>Grmoja: Politicians who have bowed to Todorić for two and a half decades should be held accountable

Due to the Upper Horizons project, which continues in the Republic of Srpska, protests began as early as 2005; we warned as early as 2012, and now it is clear to everyone that the salinity of the Neretva has increased because of it, said Grmoja, warning that in the coming time an even smaller inflow of fresh water is expected, and thus the sea will penetrate deeper into Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This is happening, he explained, because the water that previously flowed into the Neretva, Buna, Bregava is now being redirected, and there are plans for the construction of the Dabar Hydroelectric Power Plant. This is part of the Upper Horizons project; the Lower Horizons have already been completed, and because of them, the lower flow of the Neretva has lost 4 billion cubic meters of water, and if the project is completed, it will lose another two billion, Grmoja stated.

>>>Bulj: The water is murky – this is a law on speculation, not on concessions

When the Republic of Srpska builds such energy facilities, it should take into account the impact on Croatia in the environmental impact assessment, but they are not interested at all; the Republic of Srpska seems to act as it wishes, the representative asserted.

“Without international or external political pressure, there will be no fight against this harmful project,” concluded Grmoja.