New Hydro Power Plant will benefit Georgia's electricity supply and tourism potential

A new Hydro Power Plant (HPP) in Chkhorotsku province is extremely important and will help Georgia gain more energy independence, says the country’s Prime Minister.

The Khobi-2 HPP on Khobistaskali River will give the surrounding area a much-needed boost as it will create jobs for locals, improve the local infrastructure and encourage tourism, Irakli Garibashvili said at Mukhuri village where he signed a document to mark the beginning of construction of the new HPP.

PM Garibashvili said the multi-million dollar HPP would be fitted with modern infrastructure and the majority of those employed to build the facility will be locals.

"Construction of this hydro-electric power station will create more jobs and most of the people employed in the construction of this project will be locals,” the PM said

"This construction will means a constant development of infrastructure. A new road will be built and this will become a very attractive place for tourists,” Garibashvili declared.

"Creation of the [Khobi-1 and Khobi-2] HPP project has great importance for our energy sector and the country's energy security," he said.

At today’s launch ceremony of the Khobi-2 HPP in Mukhuri village, Chkhorotskhu, the Prime Minister said initial requirements envisaged only 8.5 percent of the electricity produced by the HPP would be transferred to Georgia's electricity supply chain however new requirements meant the energy output would be increased to 45 percent.

"We attach a great importance to the fact to have our own energy resources. Energy independence has a crucial importance for our country,” PM Garibashvili stated.

He said appropriate research had been carried out by experts who studied the site ahead of construction.

"We have already confirmed that we refuse to construct facade buildings. We will build in a way that excludes construction disasters," Garibashvili added.

The Khobi HPP is being funded by Georgian Investment Group, Energy. 

The Khobi-2 HPP will have an installed capacity of 55 MW and an annual output of 260 million KWh. A document to mark the beginning of construction at the Khobi-2 HPP site as signed today. The project is expected to be finished in the second half of 2017.

Within the Khobi-2 HPP project, new roads will be developed to the unique karst cave in Shurumbu, which is the same size as the famous cave of Prometheus.

In addition, a road spanning 15 km long will be built so locals and visitors can efficiently travel to one of the most beautiful lakes in Georgia. Currently it takes three days to reach Tobavarchkhili Lake, but once the new road is completed, this journey will only take a couple of hours.

The PM believed this could help exploit the region’s tourism potential.

Meanwhile the Khobi-1 HPP will have an installed capacity of 60 MW and annual output of 320 million KWh. The project will commence in September 2015 and is expected to be complete at the end of 2018.