Moving from Canada to Serbia was a giant leap for Chris Lupaschuk and his family but in examining the opportunity he realized that “it really had to do with the adventures, when we actually looked on a map and saw where Serbia was, it’s only a few hours drive to Budapest or to Romania, or Prague is driving distance”. His team and project were based in a small town called Bor, about a three hour drive from Belgrade. By the time the copper mining project was done, it would represent approximately 1000 hectares (3000 acres) of land, between 12 and 13 hundred parcels within that footprint, and between 450 to 500 property owners.
Chris tells Chad Hughes that his moving from oil and gas drilling programs to linear pipeline projects in Canada helped prepare him for the large impact of the Serbian project. He dealt with everything from needing decoy documents to dissuade land speculators to erratic sized parcels to the Herculean task of pulling land titles in a country that had been besieged by wars, occupations, and ever-changing governments. However, Chris maintains that the keys to success in Canada ultimately are the same in Serbia: good communication with owners and other stakeholders, and fair and consistent dealings.
“My residence that I spent 70%+ was in eastern Serbia and it was in Bor. Immersing myself in the culture and really taking an appreciation for what struggles people in the local area were going through and that this was serious business… this is one of the most serious things you could ever talk with someone about. And one of the most important things that they have in their ownership is their property. That language is the same in English as it is in Serbian.” – Chris Lupaschuk
Resources mentioned in this episode:
About Chris Lupaschuk
Chris Lupaschuk is the Senior Project Manager Development at NextEra Energy Resources. Chris is a proven senior leader with extensive experience supporting major project development, construction, and operations in the oil and gas, mining, and electrical transmission sectors.
He has played successful key government relations roles supporting the development and construction in projects as diverse as Power Transmission for NextBridge East-West Tie Transmission Project ($777M) to Oil and Gas for Enbridge Line 10 Westover Segment Replacement Project ($135M). Chris Lupaschuk also developed the first successful land acquisition and resettlement program in the Republic of Serbia.
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Chad Hughes | CEO, Entrepreneurial Leader, Author: website | linkedin
Chris Lupaschuk | Senior Project Manager Development at NextEra Energy Resources: website | linkedin
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