Georgia
French court suspends Georgia’s $383 million payment to company behind Namakhvani HPP
ENKA Renewables terminated the contract to build the HPP in 2021, citing breaches of terms and force majeure.
Namakhvani HPP
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Environment
Georgia’s ‘zombie’ hydropower projects
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
Environment
Construction of Georgia’s Namakhvani hydropower plant cancelled
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
Georgia
Anti-Namakhvani leaders vow to paralyse Tbilisi
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
Georgia
Villages under blockade after government’s failed public outreach over energy project
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
Environment
In Pictures | Anti-dam protesters gather in Kutaisi
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
Environment
Thousands turn out for Kutaisi hydropower protest
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
