PCC Does Not Abandon Poultry Production Project

The Premium Chicken Company (PCC) announced on Wednesday that it will not abandon the project ‘Poultry Production of the Circular Economy‘ in Sisak-Moslavina County, stating that after obtaining all permits, production should begin within 24 months, that they plan to build a factory to the highest ecological standards, and employ 2,500 workers in the first phase.

The director of Renaissance Capital, the holding company that owns PCC, Suzana Audić Vuletić, said at a press conference that the project is being implemented transparently, responsibly, and in accordance with the law.

– All these stories about non-compliance with the spatial plan have absolutely nothing to do with anything at this stage of the process. You cannot say that we are not compliant with the spatial plan when the project does not yet exist. You have a conceptual solution. How can you say based on a conceptual solution that my project is not good or that it is not compliant with the law when it does not exist? It cannot exist because it is a prerequisite for us to design a solution from the Ministry of Environment and Nature Conservation – she said, noting that environmental protection studies have passed the commission, been voted on, and are awaiting a decision.

She stated that there are many untruths, malicious claims, and false statements regarding their project in the public.

– We want to inform the public truthfully and transparently because we believe that citizens must ask questions, but proactively. What we have experienced so far has not been a proactive way of inquiry but rather attacks on us, which have come with inaccurate information – she said.

She cited the example of a recent forum in Sisak held at the initiative of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture David Vlajčić, where, she said, civic initiatives and the parties Most and Možemo presented a lot of untruths and inaccurate data for their political promotion, and we were put in a position to defend ourselves.

Audić Vuletić deemed this absurd, noting that they are the investors bringing an investment worth over 600 million euros to Sisak-Moslavina County and that it would be fair for them to present the project and what is happening on the ground in a reasoned manner.

– The Možemo party in coalition with Most continuously presents untruths against us. We do not know what the purpose of this is and who is bothered by a project that can contribute to the development of Sisak-Moslavina County, a project worth 608 million euros that can ultimately employ up to 3,000 people – she said.

Construction of a Factory to the Highest Ecological Standards

Audić Vuletić also mentioned that they are being accused of environmental pollution, but they plan to build a factory to the highest ecological standards. Their project ‘Poultry Production of the Circular Economy’, as she stated, was developed with a clear focus on ecological sustainability, using technologies that eliminate negative impacts on the environment, including unpleasant odors and harmful emissions.

All systems and processes are based on modern, energy-efficient solutions that ensure a high level of safety and environmental protection, and the project is fully compliant with applicable EU regulations on environmental protection and animal welfare.

When asked whether this project would destroy Croatian production, she said she sees no reason for that; it is not their goal to destroy Croatian production.

– We want cooperation with cooperatives and small family farms from which we will purchase chicks – she said, noting that they will cover 15 percent of the quantities that Croatia currently imports, while the rest will be exported.

In the First Phase, Jobs for 2,500 Workers

She dismissed claims that have appeared in the public about the construction of a biogas plant in Sisak, as well as allegations that foreign workers would predominantly work in the facilities.

She stated that in the first phase they plan to employ about 2,500 workers. In the area within a 60-kilometer radius of the planned production processes, there are as many as 1.2 million residents, and, as she said, it will not be difficult for them to attract domestic workers with competitive salaries, benefits in the form of transportation to and from work, accommodation, and from all over Croatia if necessary.

In response to a journalist’s question about how they view the petition from civic initiatives that collected more than 50,000 signatures against the construction and the initiative of Green Action to include the Sisak issue at the EU level, she said that it is their right. Regarding the petition, she said she has not seen it nor does she know that so many citizens signed it.

– If it was signed, I am sure they signed it based on false information propagated by the parties Most and Možemo, together with Green Action – she said.

In response to a journalist’s question about the financing of the project, she said that 20 percent is the investment of the owner himself (Ukrainian Andrii Matiukha), and the rest will be sought from institutional investors with whom they already have agreements.

Celjak: The Poultry Megaproject Will Not Be Included in the Amendments to the County Spatial Plan

Today, a meeting was held with Sisak-Moslavina County Mayor Ivan Celjak and representatives of associations and civic initiatives opposing the project.

– The facilities of the poultry megaproject in Sisak-Moslavina County will not be included in the amendments to the county spatial plan, it was stated at the outset.

Representatives of associations and initiatives stated that they expect clear and unequivocal involvement of all levels of government and institutions to completely stop the planned megaprojects of industrial breeding, slaughtering, and processing of poultry.

Arguments against the project were presented by representatives of the Friends of Animals association and Green Action, as well as members of civic initiatives Sisak residents do not want to be landfills, Sunj residents do not want to be smothered, residents of the Municipality of Velika Ludina, and citizens from Lekenik and Popovača.

We first learned about the slaughterhouse in Sisak and were horrified by its potential impact on the environment and the population, especially due to its location near rivers, sources of drinking water, kindergartens, and schools, as well as the enormous consumption of resources, they warned.

They soon realized the scale of the project, which encompasses a series of interconnected interventions, each of which individually represents a serious burden on the environment. First, there were 18 projects, then 20, and now at least 22 are being discussed; this is the ‘transparency’ that investors refer to.

They also claim that there will be no biogas plant, but that project has never been officially withdrawn nor has a solution for waste disposal been offered, they stated.

The petition against the megafarm has so far been signed by more than 50,000 citizens, over 5,000 people attended the protest in Zagreb, and more than 160 civil society organizations have expressed support for halting the projects.

Celjak emphasized that he shares the citizens’ concerns and confirmed that the amendments to the spatial plan will not go in that direction.

– The process of amending the spatial plan was initiated in 2021; however, potential investors did not meet the prescribed conditions, so chicken farms will not be included in the amendments to the Spatial Plan of Sisak-Moslavina County – Celjak stated.

The Mayor of Sisak, Domagoj Orlić, also issued a decision that the planned projects are not in accordance with the Spatial Plan of Sisak-Moslavina County nor with the Urban Planning of the City of Sisak