In 2011, UNICEF Albania was invited by Statkraft/Devoll Hydropower to participate in an environmental and social impact assessment of a planned hydro-power development. There would be no costs to UNICEF. The Terms of Reference read well, without the flowery embellishments that accompany every UN report. They were open to including every perspective related to children on the possible impacts of the construction and operation of the dams.
The Devoll River runs through a fairly remote area of Albania. It was the place of an abandoned hydro-power scheme created and mismanaged by the Enver Hoxha regime. Electricity supply in Albania, in 2011, was erratic. The dams would increase Albania’s electricity production by another 20 percent. The investment was estimated at 600 million Euro.
I knew the valley very well. Gabi and I frequently hiked the surrounding mountain ranges and drove the treacherous tracks. We had passed through most communities, some only accessible on foot, that would be affected by the construction.
Devoll River near Gramsh, before construction of the hydro-power plant
Devoll River near Gramsh, before construction of the hydro-power plant
I did not trust Statkraft/DHP communications because they were very different from UN speak. They spoke plain English, used short sentences and avoided three-syllables-words. I was skeptical about their brochures because of their glossiness, overlooking that our UN brochures were even more glossy. The Statkraft promise of a brighter future looked fake to me, not realizing that UN agencies do it all the time.
Near the planned construction site, Statkraft had opened a local office for consultations with local communities. When I visited, there was little activity, and it appeared to be fake, too. My mind suppressed that the 22 UN agencies in Albania, always bent to seek the views of the local communities, did not even have a sub-office outside Tirana, and that our visit to the local Statkraft office happened on a weekend.
Having sent a query to UNICEF HQ regarding Statkraft and what to do, I received a thumbs down from the Private Sector Division. I cannot remember their reasoning. On one hand, I was disappointed because I felt that UNICEF Albania could have contributed to the social impact assessment, and that we could have added value. On the other hand, I was relieved because I wasn’t sure whether the company was planning to misuse the UNICEF name to further a mischievous agenda. I didn’t want UNICEF to become part of some corrupt scam or abusive scheme.
I was ignorant, because I was working in a UN bubble.
I did not know that the Devoll Hydropower plan was approved by the Albania Parliament, and thus was an Albanian priority, which is more than most UN initiatives can claim. I did not know that Statkraft is fully owned by the Norwegian state, and that Devoll Hydropower (DHP) was their Albanian registered subsidiary. Given Norway’s track record in development assistance, it would have been safe to assume that the Government of Norway did not have malicious ambitions through its Stakraft involvement.
I also did not know that the scheme has been built and is operated under a (click) BOOT model: Build, Own, Operate, Transfer. After fulfilling the concession agreement obligations and some years of successful operations, the ownership of the power plants will be transferred to Albania.
Needless to say, some contractors were paid to do the social impact assessment. For years I followed with envy the countless photos of every single mountain track and hamlet in the area, that one of them posted on Google Earth for everyone to see and compare the past with the here and now.
In 2018, three years after retirement, Gabi and I drove back to Albania and made a point of visiting the Devoll Valley. One of two hydro-power plants were in service and construction continued on the other site. Roads were upgraded. The Devoll valley is no longer remote. Compared to earlier years, the area seemed busier. Electricity supply in Albania had greatly improved.
The Albanian state will hopefully inherit a soundly managed and profitable company. The Albanian Parliament wanted it. No money gets stuck in the aid machinery and its endless bureaucratic delays and inefficiencies.
I do not know all the details, and it is possible that something went different from how it was planned. Large projects are very complex, some dissent is guaranteed, and not all expectations will be fulfilled. Perhaps everything went well, perhaps it didn't. My Albanian colleagues and friends may know better. I wait to be corrected. But from the distance, I only can see benefits.
If it's a fair deal, it's better than aid.
P.S. For those concerned about the destructive nature of dams: Albania is one of only two countries whose own electricity production is virtually 100 per cent hydro-power and green; with the Vjosa River, Albania is home to the last wild river in Europe outside of Russia and by elevating it to a national park, Albania has stopped any hydro-power development there. Go and visit. It's worth it.
In 2018, three years after retirement, Gabi and I drove back to Albania and made a point of visiting the Devoll Valley. One of two hydro-power plants were in service and construction continued on the other site. Roads were upgraded. The Devoll valley is no longer remote. Compared to earlier years, the area seemed busier. Electricity supply in Albania had greatly improved.
The first dam at Banje, Photo by Statkraft
The planning documents and reports of the Devoll Hydropwer Sh.A. are factual and focused.
The Albanian state will hopefully inherit a soundly managed and profitable company. The Albanian Parliament wanted it. No money gets stuck in the aid machinery and its endless bureaucratic delays and inefficiencies.
I do not know all the details, and it is possible that something went different from how it was planned. Large projects are very complex, some dissent is guaranteed, and not all expectations will be fulfilled. Perhaps everything went well, perhaps it didn't. My Albanian colleagues and friends may know better. I wait to be corrected. But from the distance, I only can see benefits.
If it's a fair deal, it's better than aid.
P.S. For those concerned about the destructive nature of dams: Albania is one of only two countries whose own electricity production is virtually 100 per cent hydro-power and green; with the Vjosa River, Albania is home to the last wild river in Europe outside of Russia and by elevating it to a national park, Albania has stopped any hydro-power development there. Go and visit. It's worth it.
*****
More Insights from Outside the Bubble, by Detlef Palm
Detlef can be contacted via detlefpalm55@gmail.com
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