Georgia’s border villages connected with gas supply

The Ministry of Energy is working to connect Georgian villages across the so-called occupation line, in Georgia’s breakaway region Tskhinvali, with gas.

About 8,800 households in Gori municipality who live near the administrative border, which has been contested since the Russia-Georgia war in August 2008, will be connected with a reliable gas supply by the end of the year, officials said today.

Meanwhile, more than 33 villages in Georgia’s eastern ShidaKartli region will be connected with gas for free after the Central Government allocated 19 million GEL to this project.

Authorities believed it was "urgent” to connect those living near the occupation line with gas, as locals had been quickly detained by Russian border guards when they entered a nearby forest to gather capers or firewood.

Khurvaleti, a small village in Gori where there are settlements for internally displaced people from Tskhinvali, will be connected with gas in November, officials said.

Construction work to support this has already been implemented by Konstruktsia 21, who plan to build a 15 km gas pipeline.