Violations at EBRD power lines project spark clashes between police and villagers in Ukraine

November 18, 2009

A project financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the Odessa region of Ukraine has this week been the scene of clashes between 300 police officers and villagers resisting the routing of high voltage power lines through their village. The EUR 25.8 million Odessa High Voltage Grid Upgrade project is being implemented by Ukraine's national electricity company Ukrenergo in violation of agreements with the EBRD, the international public development bank and backer of the project. [1]

Signed off by the EBRD in 2005, the project's environmental impact assessment (EIA) deemed that the power lines were to bypass the village of Usatove. However, Ukrenergo's plans to proceed with the routing of the power lines in very close vicinity to local houses and streets have led to months of resistance by local inhabitants, which came to a head on Monday this week as police arrived in the village to free up space for project construction workers (see the embedded video). [2]

Clashes on Monday (see video below) left five women seeking medical assistance. With ongoing police backing, Ukrenergo has continued its construction efforts in the village, working overnight, as villagers reacted by blocking roads. This morning five local men were beaten and arrested on the site.

Yury Urbansky, of the National Ecological Centre of Ukraine and Bankwatch National coordinator, said: "Ukrenergo's blatant disregard for the terms of the EUR 25 million EBRD loan is shocking and is provoking fear and discontent in Usatove's inhabitants. The company is seeking further EBRD assistance for another transmission lines project which is at the public consultations stage and also involves controversial routing and public safety concerns.

"But events in the last few days show clearly that the company is unwilling to consider the voices of local people, and it has apparently little concern for the European standards of project implementation that an EBRD loan is supposed to provide. The EBRD should be halting any further project negotiations with Ukrenergo until the village of Usatovo is safe from harm."

The South Ukraine Transmission Project is the other major transmission line project promoted by Ukrenergo currently and being considered for funding by the EBRD. The draft EIA for the project is now open for public discussion, though Bankwatch has already alerted the bank to consultation shortcomings. [3]