Čolpa: Many unanswered questions about Block 7

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The continuation of the first regular session of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH will be held today starting at 1 PM, and the representatives will consider the decision on issuing a guarantee of the Federation of BiH and giving consent for the credit debt of the company Elektroprivreda BiH to the Export-Import Bank of China for the Project of construction of Block 7 of the Tuzla Thermal Power Plant. The credit debt for the construction project of Tuzla's Block 7 should amount to approximately 1.4 billion KM.

Ahead of today's session, JP Elektroprivreda BiH also issued a statement, emphasizing that this is a project of strategic importance for the Federation of BiH and that, as such, it has no alternative. On the other hand, the EU expresses concern about such projects due to their impact on the environment, but also due to Chinese investments, which are interpreted as "illegal state aid".

Nihad Čolpa, a representative of the Civic Alliance in the Federal Parliament, told the Patria agency that this is a very serious project, and that a decision on this type of investment cannot be made without the public first having insight into all segments of the project.

"A decision cannot be made without the presence of the Government and Prime Minister Fadil Novalić at the parliamentary session, who should provide answers to many open questions that are still unclear about Block 7, such as whether there will be an astronomical increase in heating prices for the local population, and many bigger questions than that," said Čolpa, adding that Block 7 is not a project that relates only to one year, but an investment whose positive or negative consequences will be felt for years afterward.

"The decision in the case of Block 7 must be equally correct today and for the next twenty years," said Čolpa, emphasizing that he also acknowledges the fact that the current blocks are outdated.

The GS representative rejects the argument that the Federation will become energy-dependent without Block 7.

"The story that we, as a Federation, will be energy-dependent if we do not support the construction of Block 7 has another dimension, such as becoming dependent on China if we cannot repay the loan for this investment, as is the case with Montenegro, Sri Lanka, Kenya, and other countries," said Čolpa.