Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party has proposed an amendment to the law on entrepreneurs that would align the country’s legal framework with the needs of the controversial investment by the Emirati company Eagle Hills.
The draft law, dated 19 November, was authored by two MPs from Georgian Dream. Parliament is expected to consider the bill under an accelerated procedure.
The amendment would make it legally possible for the state to appoint public servants as its representatives on the supervisory board of the company — Eagle Hills Georgia LLC — that was established in April 2025 in Tbilisi to implement the investment project.
Under the current law, the Georgian state can only appoint public servants to the supervisory boards of enterprises in which it holds more than 50% of the shares. This criterion is not met in the case of the company responsible for the Eagle Hills investment. However, the authors of the draft law argue that, given the ‘function and significance’ of the company, it is important to appoint public servants to its supervisory board.
For this reason, Georgian Dream vowed to amend the law so that the state can appoint public servants even when its shareholding in the company is 50% or less.
Alongside the amendments to the law on entrepreneurs, a similar change will be introduced to the law on state property.
Eagle Hills — founded by Mohamed Alabbar, chair of Emaar, one of the UAE’s largest real estate developers — first announced its $6 billion investment in Georgia back in January. Since then, the Georgian government has remained reserved about the details.
Responding to detailed written questions from OC Media, the Economy Ministry stated that ‘as a result of Eagle Hills’ unprecedented investment exceeding $6.5 billion, globally recognisable complexes will be developed in Tbilisi and Gonio, near Batumi’.
Despite the Georgian government’s assurance that ‘the country’s interests remain fully protected’, the potential investment has sparked public debate on a range of issues, including the secrecy of investment details and the project’s benefits for Georgia, as well as environmental concerns and the question of who will live in the new areas to be built as part of the project.
The state’s rhetoric towards critics of the project is harsh, with one recent case seeing the pro-government TV Imedi targeting independent online media outlets that critically cover the project.
Helena Bedwell
