Former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili plans to renovate town of Tskaltubo with person funds
By Liza Mchedlidze and Nika Gamtsemlidze
Wednesday, October 30
Georgian Dream press office released a statement, according to which, former prime minister and the founder of the aforementioned political party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, plans to ‘Revive’ Tskaltubo.
Ivanishvili states that he plans to buy and restore all 22 Sanatoriums and 9 baths and cover expenses from his funds.
“I decided to be in charge of the Tskaltubo Redevelopment Project. I decided to start with personal funds and finish in a short time, not only to revive fully amortized, tourist infrastructure, but make it a modern, a fit for international standards" he writes.
According to Bidzina Ivanishvili, mountains, seas, mineral waters, and the sands have vibrant energy and the State cannot afford to invest multiple million dollars for the full restoration of Tskaltubo from the budget.
As Ivanishvili says, he won’t have any profit from this and in case someone is interested in doing business at the renovated place, the maximum price will be the prime cost. “At the same time, I am ready to give these projects to the interested business at a discount, or even at a significant discount,” added former PM.
Ivanishvili's statement on the ‘revival of Tskaltubo’ has been praised by government officials and majority lawmakers.
As the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Archil Talakvadze said, with the funding of Bidzina Ivanishvili, Tskaltubo may become one of the most important attractions of Eastern Europe in the coming years, it has a potential to become a Health and Tourism Center.
According to Natia Turnava, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Bidzina Ivanishvili's initiative to rebuild the resort is ‘completely a charity.’
“I emphasize that this is a charity initiative. Reality shows that business cannot handle all of this with a standard approach as it is not a profitable project,” noted Turnava.
Turnava did not specify whether Bidzina Ivanishvili will be given state property in Tskaltubo for 1 GEL. Commenting on this topic, Economy Minister told reporters that until now the state was ready to give the property to the investors for 1 GEL, but no one was interested.
“As for terms, conditions and value, these are the details that will be further specified when we come up with a completely complex plan, but now I want to tell you that everything will be done in accordance to the law, so that the state interest is not affected and the state can benefit from it,” noted Turnava.
According to Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, Bidzina Ivanishvili is always doing what the country and its people need. “This is a unique project that neither the state nor the private sector was able to accomplish for many years,” noted Gakharia.
Mamuka Khazaradze, founder of the public movement Lelo, calls Ivanishvili’s project “a country-wide process, by which he managed to control prosecutor's office, court, state institutions and now private sector.” Khazaradze added that Ivanishvili's style of governance only means ‘poverty and total unemployment.’
As IPN was told by the Ministry of Economy, out of 22 hotels in Tskaltubo, there are 15 hotels on the balance of the Ministry. The agency does not have any information if the remaining 7 hotels are privately owned, or if they are owned by the local municipality.
