Police erect iron wall in Rioni Gorge amid protests against Namakhvani HPP
Tweet 
Share
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.
They have been based in tents in the village of Namakhvani until April 11, 2021.
Police removed the tents early on April 11 ‘because of possible threats of flooding.’ However, the demonstrators say that the government deliberately hampers a peaceful protest of people against the ‘cabal agreement between ENKA and the Georgian government which is against state interests and poses serious threats to the environment.’
People protesting the erection of the iron wall. Video: Publika.ge.
Police detained six protesters at the local office of ENKA near Kutaisi late yesterday for disobedience to police and blocking the road.
The demonstrators went there earlier yesterday, from the village of Gumati, to call for the company not to build the Namakhvani HPP in Georgia.
The demonstrators are now in the village of Gumati and demanding a free movement to the village of Namakhvani.
They say that it is their ‘constitutional right’ to use the route.
Public Defender’s Statement on Events Developed in Rioni Gorge https://t.co/RToSU0ufop
— Ombudsman of Georgia (@Ombudsman_Geo) April 13, 2021
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili instructed the country’s Economy Minister Natia Turnava yesterday to ‘communicate with people and arrive in the Rioni Gorge’.
Turnava stated the same day that the government ‘is ready to meet everyone interested in the project’ and to present the studies carried out by ENKA for the project.
However, a local leader of demonstrators Varlam Goletiani stated that ‘Turnava had earlier ran from a meeting scheduled with us and we need to meet decision makers.’
Goletiani said that he meant Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.
The demonstrators have warned of a large-rally in Tbilisi if the government ‘refuses to act reasonably.’
What do we know about the controversial HPP?
Turkish engineering company ENKA (90 per cent of share) and Norway’s Clean Energy Group (10 per cent share) won the Georgian government tender back in 2019 to build, own and operate the Namakhvani project.
The cost of the project is 800 million USD (2.66 billion GEL) and it covers the construction of two HPPs along the Rioni River with a capacity of 433 MW and an annual output of 1,514 GWh.
The government of Georgia has transferred 600 acres of state-owned land to the Turkish construction company ENKA for a symbolic price.
The protesters and the local environmental NGOs say the project was signed behind closed doors and without the involvement of public and NGOs.
They argue that the government 'deliberately signed the anti-state project’ without the public involvement in discussions.
Demonstrators say that the police have no right to block the road which locals use to reach their homes. Photo: Mtisambebi.ge.
Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), Green Alternative, and EMC NGO say that ENKA has launched preparatory works on the site in February 2021 without providing up to 25 studies on the project’s impact on the environment.
They say that the ‘cabal agreement’ allows the investor to confiscate private property and utilize natural resources and demand unproportionally high compensation from the Georgian state for damages.
The government of Georgia says that the project ‘is of utmost importance for Georgia’s energy independence’, with 800 million USD investment and the potential to employ at least 1,800 Georgian citizens.
However, the opponents say that the project ‘has nothing to do with the country’s energy independence.’
They say that the contract between the Georgian government and ENKA only obligates the Turkish company to sell the electricity produced through the HPP locally for the first 15 years, while also annually increasing the fee by three per cent.
They say that the contract also allows ENKA to sell electricity to other countries if they offer a better price.