Vlora demonstrators tell World Bank delegation to pull out of disputed power plant

Close to 3000 residents of Vlora, an Albanian city on the Adriatic coast, greeted the visit of representatives of the World Banks Inspection Panel with a clear plea - end World Bank credits for the EUR 110m thermal power plant that is part of a huge energy park development threatening the sensitive Vlora bay.

It is the second time that the Inspection Panel members have visited Vlora since local initiative group the Alliance for Protection of Vlora Bay lodged an appeal in April 2007. These huge energy developments have speeded ahead with next to no public consultation, and in recent months local residents have staged regular demonstrations and road blockades, accompanied by violent police crackdowns. The EBRD and the EIB are both also involved in the financing of the plant, a project that has been formally rebuked by the UNs Aarhus Convention because of the extremely limited public consultations offered by the developers.

Read more about the Vlora Industrial and Energy Park.