"Lori Fortress" LLC is once again trying to build a hydroelectric power plant on the Dzoraget. According to the official website of Lori Berd Municipality, on October 21, 2021, the first round of public hearings on the application for the preliminary environmental impact assessment of the construction of a hydropower plant in Agarak, Lori Berd, Koghes and Yaghdan settlements will take place in Lori Berd Municipality.
No information on the HPP construction project is available on the municipality website. Only the first stage of the public hearing is intended to inform the local population.
Reminder: "Lori Fortress" LLC applied to the Ministry of Environment in February 2020 to obtain a water use permit for the construction of "Loriberd-1" and "Loriberd-2" HPPs on the Dzoraget River.
The process did not continue, there is no information about "Lori Fortress" LLC in the sections of RA Ministry of Environment website, nor in the sections of the projects, nor in the section of water permits nor in environmental impact assessment opinions. 4 SHPPs have already been built on 67-kilometer-long Dzoraget River: "Dzoraget 5", "Dzoraget 6", "Katnarat" and "DzoraHEK".
Under EcoLur’s monitoring data, the hydropower and hydraulic structures built on Dzoraget hinder the migration of fish. As a result, the fish species living in the Debed, most of which are characterized by seasonal migrations, especially during the breeding season, do not have the opportunity to rise up the Dzoraget River to live and reproduce here.
According to the article entitled "Dzoraget in the clutches of HPPs: Who are the owners of hydroelectric power plants?" published on FCP on 13 February 2020, 80% of the shares of "Lori Fortress" Company belong to Samvel Hunanyan, 20% to Vazgen Manukyan, Ex Chair of Public Council, the founder of "Vernatun" public-political club. The latter acquired its share in 2011. Before that, former members of the Supreme Council Mekhak Gabrielyan and Smbat Hakobyan (he was also Vazgen Manukyan's assistant), Eduard Madatyan (Khuchuch Edo), who held the post of Minister of Transport in 2000-2001, and others had shares in the company and were alienated."
October 19, 2021 at 17:05