KRASNOYARSK, December 29 - RAPSI. A court on Thursday upheld an application by the prosecutor to call an independent expert on hydro-technical facilities, and suspended the hearing into the lawsuit by the prosecutor's office against Boguchanskaya Hydro Power Plant, the court told RIA Novosti.

In its lawsuit the prosecutor's office is demanding that the company assess the impact the hydro power plant will have on the environment, the court told RIA Novosti.

The prosecutor's office had earlier demanded that the environmental expert examination be held by January 1, 2012.

The construction of the Boguchanskaya Hydro Power Plant started in 1980, however construction work was suspended in the early 1990s. In 2006 RusHydrop and Rusal resumed construction after entering into an agreement on joint implementation of the project to establish the Boguchan Energy-Metallurgy Union. The union comprises the Boguchanskaya Hydro Power Plant with a projected capacity of 3GW and an aluminum plant capable of producing 600,000 tons of metal a year. RusHydro and Rusal intend to launch three units of the power plant in April 2012.

The World Wildlife Fund submitted a petition to the Russian president to suspend construction of the power plant until the examination is carried out.