Bosnia's entity Republika Srpska ordered to pay 46 million euros in compensation to Slovenian company Viadukt for unilateral termination of hydroelectric power plant construction contract on the Vrbas River, reported by Forbes Slovenia.

The Arbitration Council in London has rejected the request of Republika Srpska to annul the decision of the arbitration court in Washington, meaning that this entity must pay Slovenian company Viadukt 90 million convertible marks (46 million euros) as compensation for the unilateral termination of the contract for the construction of a hydroelectric power plant on the Vrbas River.

The RS government signed a concession contract worth 165 million euros with HEV Vrbas in 2004, whose majority owner is Slovenian Viadukt, for the construction of two hydroelectric power plants.

A year later, nearly 20,000 residents of Banja Luka signed a petition against this project. As the project was not realized even after ten years, the contract was terminated in September 2015, as reported by Capital.

In October 2015, HES Vrbas filed a compensation claim against the Republika Srpska government for the contract termination. After the government rejected the claim, Viadukt, as the majority owner of HES Vrbas, filed for arbitration in Washington in 2016.

The government appealed, but the arbitration court rejected them

The Arbitration Court in Washington ruled in 2022 that Republika Srpska must pay Viadukt 90 million convertible marks in damages.

The entity government then filed a request to annul this decision and unconditionally guaranteed to pay the debt if the decision was not annulled.

Viadukt's legal representative Predrag Baroš confirmed to Capital that the arbitration court issued its decision on May 1, completely rejecting the request to annul the arbitration award. He also explained that the decision of the arbitration court invalidated the blockade of the enforcement procedure.