Namakhvani HPP

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Nenskra river, Svaneti. Image: Shota Kincha/OC Media

Environment

Georgia’s ‘zombie’ hydropower projects

by Shota Kincha

•18 min read

As Georgia’s government promises to resume the construction of controversial hydropower plants (HPPs) in western Georgia, local people remain determined to fight against changes they believe could leave their land and livelihoods at risk. ‘I would have never imagined the topic of its construction would pop up again’, says Magda Guledani. In March 2018, Guledani was in her third trimester of pregnancy when she lay on the ground in front of construction equipment in the northwestern Georgian t

‘No to Namakhvani Dam’. A protest against the Namakhvani project in Kutaisi in March. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Environment

Construction of Georgia’s Namakhvani hydropower plant cancelled

by OC Media

•1 min read

Turkish construction firm Enka Renewables has terminated its contract with the Georgian government to build an $800 million hydropower plant in western Georgia, Turkish media has reported. The company announced on Tuesday that they had pulled out of the project due to ‘breaches of contract’ by the Georgian Government and force majeure, an event or circumstance beyond the control of both parties. The project had proved controversial triggering protests led by the grassroots Save the Rioni Val

Anti-Namakhvani protest in Tbilisi. Photo: Shota Kincha/OC Media.

Georgia

Anti-Namakhvani leaders vow to paralyse Tbilisi

by Shota Kincha

•4 min read

Protesters opposed to the construction of the Namakhvani hydropower plant in northwest Georgia have vowed to paralyse Tbilisi demanding the cancellation of the controversial project. On Sunday, thousands gathered in the Georgian capital, setting up tents to block First Republic Square. By Monday, a smaller number of protesters marched from Republic Square to Freedom Square, which was closed off to traffic in preparation for Independence Day celebrations on 26 May. Protesters moved to Tb

Two women kneel in front of police blocking off the Rioni Valley near the village of Gumati. Photo: Dato Simonia.

Georgia

Villages under blockade after government’s failed public outreach over energy project

by Shota Kincha

•3 min read

After unsuccessful outreach to local opponents of the Namakhvani HPP project, the government has moved on the offensive in the Rioni Valley, erecting police checkpoints blocking off the area and removing protest tents. On Monday, opponents of Namakhvani HPP tried to break through the police lines in the village of Gumati, 10 kilometres north of the west Georgian city of Kutaisi. It followed the removal by police the previous day of a protest camp set up in the village of Namokhvani. Th

Thousands gathered on 14 March in Kutaisi to protest the project. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Environment

In Pictures | Anti-dam protesters gather in Kutaisi

by Mariam Nikuradze

•3 min read

On Sunday, thousands gathered in the central Georgian city of Kutaisi to protest the construction of the nearby Namakhvani hydropower project. The main demand of the protesters, who have been rallying intermittently for the last 141 days, is for the Georgian government to cancel its ‘unlawful’ decision to support the construction of the Namakhvani hydropower plant. An additional and more recent demand is the resignation of Economy Minister Natia Turnava. [Read on OC Media: Activists prot

The protest in Kutaisi on 28 February. Photo: EMC.

Environment

Thousands turn out for Kutaisi hydropower protest

by Shota Kincha

•3 min read

Thousands have turned out to protest in Kutaisi against the construction of the nearby Namakhvani hydropower project Protesters gathered on the west-Georgian city’s central square on Sunday calling on the authorities to revisit their ‘unlawful’ decision to support the project. Opponents have vowed to ‘picket’ the city in two weeks time if their demand is not met. ‘If they don’t take into account today’s meeting and what is happening here, we’ll agree to gather again in two weeks’, Varlam Gol

A protester behind the ‘we are defending homeland’ banner in Zhoneti. Image: Shota Kincha/OC Media.

Environment

Activists protest dam construction in northwest Georgia

by Shota Kincha

•5 min read

A planned $800 million hydropower project in the Tskaltubo and Tsageri municipalities, the largest in the country, is meeting resistance from residents of the Rioni River valley. On 22 November, opponents of the Namakhvani HPP Cascade Project gathered outside the offices of Enka Renewables in Zhoneti, a village 20 kilometres north of the capital of Imereti, Kutaisi. They demanded that the company drop their plans to construct the dam. ‘We have been protesting for the last three years, but