Multi-million dollar hydro-power plant opens

A multi-million dollar hydro power station with a potential to power tens of thousands of homes, has officially opened in Kazbegi.

Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze welcomed Georgian officials and invited guests to the site of the new hydro power plant, at the Larsi checkpoint earlier today.

"We lead energy sectors to independence,” Kaladze said in his speech.

"‘Larsi’ has double importance for me - first of all this has added significantly more capacity our country’s energy system and secondly, during the past year this is the third energy plant to be launched.”

Construction of the power plant began on the river Terek in 2011, and 20 million USD was invested in the project.

Kaladze claimed construction of such facilities would stop people migrating away from more isolated communities and be able to live, work and socialize in comfortable conditions, for life.

"This guarantees employment for local residents [and] it improves infrastructure in surrounding areas,” Kaladze said during the ceremony.

His speech focused on the positive features of the project and highlighted how the plant would facilitate more infrastructures and as a result, create more jobs.

New hotels restaurants and other infrastructure projects will be built in Kazbegi in the future.

On a side note, living in the mountain region would become more interesting for youth, Kaladze said.

"We lead energy sector to independence and in its turn, energy will bring development to the country’s economy,” he said.

The Minister expressed his gratitude to everyone who had contributed to the project and to people who committed to strengthening Georgia.

The hydro power plant is located in Larsi, in the mountainous region of Kazbegi, in Georgia’s north-east.

The capacity of the plant is 19mWh (1 mWh can power about thousand homes), and it will be able to produce 100 million kilowatts per hour.

Today’s opening ceremony was attended by Georgia’s Minister of Finance Nodar Khaduri, Regional Development and Infrastructure Minister David Narmania and representatives of the plant Developer Company.