Police detain two during clash over Namakhvani HPP in western Georgia
Locals and activists have earlier met with Merab Lominadze - new director of the Turkish company Enka Renewables which is in charge of the construction. Photo: Davit Katsarava/Facebook
Tweet 
Share
Two protesters have been detained during a clash with police over the Namakhvani hydro power plant (HPP) in the western Georgian region of Imereti.
The Interior Ministry has announced that police officers have been mobilised in Rioni gorge since morning to maintain the rule of law amid the resumption of the HPP preparatory works.
The ministry calls on citizens ‘to act in full compliance of the law on freedom of expression and adhere to the rightful demands of the police’.
For security reasons, the movement of citizens in the Rioni gorge in certain directions is temporarily restricted… Police infrastructure is mobilised at the site, including a special vehicle that ensures smooth operation of radio communications”, the ministry said.
Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava stated in mid-March that the construction of the main facilities of the Namakhvani HPP, in particular the dam and the reservoir, will be suspended until major studies are re-verified and validated, while construction of the auxiliary infrastructure will continue.
Photo: Davit Katsarava/Facebook
However, locals and activists who have earlier met with Merab Lominadze - new director of the Turkish company Enka Renewables which is in charge of the construction - claim that the construction is actually underway now.
Stating that ‘the government has declared a war’, Facebook user Magda Revishvili reported earlier today that internet connection has been blocked to disable communication in the gorge with the rest of the world.
Civic activist Davit Katsarava has also reported that te Turkish company continues its works ‘under the strong police defence’. “This story will not end that easy”, he wrote on Facebook.
Locals and activists have been patrolling the site for several months days now opposing to the construction. Saying no to 'giant' HPPs the protesters say the construction is illegal and against the will of the local population. Photo: Tata Kachkachishvili/RFERL
The Namakhvani HPP Cascade Project entails the construction of two hydroelectric power plants on the Rioni river in Georgia’s Tskaltubo and Tsageri municipalities:
- The Lower Namakhvani HPP - 333 MW
- The Upper Namakhvani HPP - 100 MW
Being implemented with a direct foreign investment of USD 800 million, the construction company says it is 'the largest energy project in the history of Georgia’s independence'.
The Georgian government expects the HPP to provide Georgia with 12% of its electric energy needs once completed; around 1,600 citizens are expected to be employed for the project.
The construction of the main facilities of the Namakhvani HPP in western Georgia, in particular the dam and the reservoir, will be suspended until major studies are re-verified and validated, while construction of the auxiliary infrastructure will continue, announces Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava.
Locals, activists and politicians gathered in the western Georgian town of Kutaisi to protest the construction of the Namakhvani hydro power plant (HPP) in the Imereti region.
The Namakhvani hydroelectric power plant (HPP) being built in the Tskaltubo municipality will provide Georgia with 12% of its electric energy needs once completed, Economy Minister Natia Turnava said earlier today while visiting the site.
Georgia has selected Clean Energy Group Georgia to build and operate the new Namakhvani hydroelectric power plant (HPP) in the country’s western region.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has spoken about the importance of unity and expressed support for Ukraine amid the movements of Russian troops in its border in her annual speech in the state legislature earlier today.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has announced that the tents of activists protesting the construction of the Namakhvani hydro power plant (HPP) in the western Georgian region of Imereti will be removed after a man drowned in Rioni River yesterday.
Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava says that the government has plans to hold ‘a large meeting’ in the coming days with all interested parties regarding the controversial Namakhvani HPP project. Residents of Rioni Gorge in western Georgia have been protesting the construction of Namakhvani HPP by the Turkish company ENKA for about 170 days.
Georgian law enforcers have erected an iron wall in the Rioni River Gorge in western Georgia, in the village of Gumati earlier today to hamper the movement of demonstrators to the village of Namakhvani. Locals have been protesting the construction of Namakhvani HPP by the Turkish company ENKA for 170 days on.
Ten demonstrators have been detained near the Interior Ministry headquarters in Tbilisi for ‘disobedience to the lawful request of a police officer’.
The government of Georgia has announced that the construction of the Namakhvani hydro power plant (HPP) in the Imereti region will be suspended for 9 to 12 months until the environmental, geological and seismological surveys are reviewed and confirmed.