Locals oppose hydro power station construction in Khaishi

The local population of a mountainous region in Georgia’s Svaneti region are crying out against construction of a hydro power station and are prohibiting Government representatives from entering the territory.

This is not the first time Khaishi residents have opposed construction of the mega dam.

The situation was tense when hundreds of residents of the village Ghurta closed the roads for a few hours today in protest.

More than 700 people gathered at the entrance of the Ghurta village and blocked the road to prevent the country’s Deputy Minister of Energy Ilia Eloshvili and other officials to enter the territory where the large-scale Khudoni hydro power plant is expected to be built.

Only when law enforcement officers arrived at the scene, did local try to open to path.

Locals told Tbilisi-based news agency InterPressNews that police used force against the demonstrators to open the route.

Eloshvili denied the accusations said locals had closed the commonly used road and police actions were in accordance with the law.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs have launched an investigation into today’s controversy.

The Khudoni Hydro Power Plant investor company, Trans Electrica, were also barred from entering the area. The company must acquire a construction permit by March 15. If this is not met, the company will face penalties for not adhering to the deadlines.

Locals protested the construction of the power plant and demanded better guarantee of safety and more financial compensation.

Construction of the 650 megawatt hydropower plant will involve building a 200 metre dam and reservoir on the Enguri river.

If the project goes ahead, the Khaishi village will be flooded and more than 200 locals will be displaced and be forced to move.

Eloshvili said the locals’ demands were "unwise.”

"They are demanding us to buy houses in Batumi, the Black Sea coastal city, and resettle them as soon as construction begins. These demands are unwise [and] we are here to continue to negotiate with them,” he said from Svaneti.

The Hydro Power Plant has projected potential output figures of 1.7 billion kilowatt/hour of electricity. This amount of electricity will enable the state to replace roughly 10% of its total imported electricity, which is mainly supplied by Russia in the winter.

The dam may also automatically generate an extra 470 million kW/h of electricity, which equalled the construction of a new Hydro Power Plant free of charge.

One billion USD will be invested in the project and 4 000 people will be employed for six years during the construction period. At least 20 million USD per year will remain in Svaneti.

The Khudoni dam was designed by the Soviet Union and construction began in 1979. Fierce protests by locals and members of the pro-independence movement convinced authorities to halt the construction work in 1989.