The US power generation company ContourGlobal is seeking to resolve the dispute with Kosovo over a failed thermal power plant project through arbitration, the economy ministry in Pristina said on December 1.

US company ContourGlobal announced its decision to cancel the 500 MW Kosova e Re coal-fired power plant project in Kosovo, estimated to cost €1.3bn, on March 17.

The project would have been the largest-ever energy investment in Kosovo and was intended to stabilise the country’s energy supply and to boost economic growth. However, it has been heavily criticised by environmental groups.

Kosovo’s Ministry of Economy and Environment was informed by Washington-based International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) about the opening of the dispute with ContourGlobal, the ministry said in a statement.

The notification explained that a deal on financing the Kosova e Re project should have been reached on May 24, 2020, but this was not achieved in time.

“After the failure of several attempts to resolve the dispute by agreement, the request for arbitration was filed in the International Court of Arbitration by the investor ContourGlobal,” it said.

ContourGlobal said in a statement in March 2020 that as a result of the political situation in Kosovo, the power plant project was incapable of reaching its required milestones by the required project completion date in May 2020 so the project cannot proceed.