Pipeline sale discussed

Open Society Foundation Georgia recently organised a special meeting about the privatisation of the main gas pipeline running through Georgia. Members of the Government who have initiated this privatisation, NGOs, journalists, analysts and politicians attended.

Civil society organisations considered the Government's arguments for pravatising the pipeline unconvincing, as the move endangers Georgia's energy security. The initiator of the privatisation project, Lasha Tordia, aired his arguments in support of the move but he and Adviser to the Prime Minister Vato Lezhava were the only people present who supported it, with all other attendees advancing different arguments against it, recommending that the administration refrain from taking such a controversial step.