New Hydro Power Plant will benefit Georgia’s energy sector

Georgia is gearing up to have more energy security and produce more energy for the country with the opening of a new Hydro Power Plant (HPP) in Dariali valley in the northern Kazbegi municipality.

Construction on the ‘Kazbegi Plant’, as it was commonly known, started in 2013 while $3 million USD (about 5.3 million GEL) was invested in the project.

The opening ceremony of the new HPP was held today and attended by the country’s Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze, head of the Kazbegi Plant’s Board of Directors and executive director of Colour Group Lasha Iordanishvili, and representatives of the Government and energy companies.

"This is a Georgian investment and another successful project by the Colour Group company, which is a successful investor in this field,” Kaladze noted at the opening.

"This is another successful step for us and for our opponents this is yet another hit on their empty words,” he said.

Georgian company Colour Group were major investors of the project and had put forward $30 million USD (52.7 million GEL) to bolstering Georgia’s energy sector in recent years.

Meanwhile in his speech, Minister Kaladze stressed the regional, economic and political aim of the HPP. He said: "One of our priorities of our Government is to revive the regions,” and the HPP would help achieve this.

Kaladze noted the local population and wider region would benefit immensely from the new HPP and the facility would offer numerous jobs. Overall, 80 people have been employed at different times on the construction, with the majority of them being local residents.

Currently 22 employees worked at the HPP – all of which were locals.

The new HPP was constructed in the vicinity where two tragic landslides caused major damage to local infrastructure in May and August this year, causing the deaths of seven people. At the time some believed construction of the HPP was one of the main causes of the landslides however this was strongly denied and the claims could not be verified.