Status update on the Nenskra hydropower plant project, 9 April 2020

Almost two years after Salini Impregilo, a major construction company, mysteriously abandoned the Nenskra hydropower plant (HPP) project before construction had even begun, activity on the project remains at a standstill. Salini Impreglio’s replacement has still not been selected: official sources have yet to confirm media reports about the selection of Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Hyundai E&C) and Turkish Limak as winners of the USD 737 million tender for the Nenskra Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor...The project site is located under glaciers, so climate change poses severe risks to both the project and, importantly, to local villages that have experienced regular floods in recent years...To avoid doing harm to local communities and their unique culture and environment, all comprehensive studies and public consultations should be conducted to the highest standard of compliance with the policies of its international financiers...