No dams on Vjosa river

Sep 28, 2020

Albania will not build Kalivaç dam on Vjosa river as the Ministry of Environment has officially refused to issue a permit for construction.

One of the biggest news in Albania is the government decision to oppose dams on the Vjosa river. After the request of President Ilir Meta for the review of concessions for the construction of hydropower plants on the Vjosa River, Prime Minister Edi Rama reacted on 25th September: “ Our Ministry of Environment has officially refused to issue a permit for HPPs in the lower part Vjosa that will be integrated with the Park (upper part of Vjosa)”.

In a reaction to the statement of Albanian President Ilir Meta, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced to the media that he also is in favor of establishing a Vjosa National Park.

On his official twitter account, Rama posted: “I agree with Ilir Meta that the future is not destruction, but how good it would have been if he had protected Valbona from destruction when he was deputy head of Sali Berisha’s government, as he protects Vjosa today from the imaginary danger of hydropower plants that will not be built.

Our government has declared the Upper Vjosa a National Park. Our Ministry of Environment has officially refused to grant a permit for HPP projects in the lower Vjosa river. The destructive wave of the old government over the rivers as a whole has been repelled for a long time”, said Rama.