Ruling team’s mayoral candidates vows replacement of “Khrushovka” flats

The ruling team’s mayoral candidate, former energy minister Kakha Kaladze vows a gradual replacement of Khrushovka residential flats in Tbilisi, which are “ugly and dangerous to live in”.

Large numbers of three-five storey apartments, so-called Khrushovkas, were constructed in Tbilisi in the 20th century.

The block buildings were completed with low ceiling flats, 1-2 rooms and thin walls.

They were mostly during the Soviet Union period under Nikita Khrushchev.

The Khrushovkas were conceived as temporary accommodation to be lived in for no longer than 25 years, but there are still many Khrushovka-style residential houses in Tbilisi today.

Kaladze says that he has a plan as to how the buildings could be replaced by modern flats.

He says that those who are now living in Khrushovkas will have a choice between compensation or a new flat which will be built in place of the to-be-demolished Khrushovkas.

“There is no place for Khrushovkas in modern Tbilisi,” Kaladze says, who has been named as a “candidate who will definitely win the mayoral race” by the ruling team.

Responding to this, leader of the European Georgia opposition, former Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava, called the statement “populist”.

He stressed it would be better for the mayoral candidates to speak about the fate of currently damaged buildings rather than replacing all the Khrushovkas, as only some Khrushovkas could pose hazards to citizens’ health.

It is a fact that Khrushovkas and many other Soviet-era residential buildings in Tbilisi are very ugly and need to be replaced.

Statements about the replacement of Khrushovkas have already been voiced by the ruling team’s members, but the buildings still remain the same.

It is interesting how Kaladze plans to replace the buildings, as the process will be dependent on large sums of money and attracting investors.

In addition, many new residential buildings are built in Tbilisi chaotically, and there is no genuine checking into their quality.

It would be wise for Kaladze to touch upon the issue, as new construction projects may also be quite dangerous for the city’s residents.