According to the Georgian Minister of Environment Levan Davitashvili, Namakhvani HPP is one of the most well-studied large infrastructure projects.

He said the experts would have access to the research. Both the state bodies and the investor are ready to keep the process transparent. Levan Davitashvili says that the project would be implemented for sure.

“There is a lot of research that needs to be well analyzed. We repeatedly say that the Namakhvani HPP is one of the most well-studied large infrastructure projects. Work on this project began in the 1930s. Experts will have access to all available researches, process them, and finally, get the Namakhvani HPP project implemented in a way that responds to the public interest. The state institutions and the company are willing to keep this process transparent,” Levan Davitashvili declared.

Environment Minister said the implementation of the project is out of the question. He added, there is no problem with communication with the local population.

“Local residents said it was important for them to have trusted experts participating in the research. That is why we said that the company should not finance the additional studies, but the state, in order to exclude bias,” Levan Davitashvili said after meeting with experts.

The non-governmental sector sees the agreement between the Georgian government and the Turkish company ENKA Renewables Ltd as favourable for the investor and believes construction poses several risks.
The Georgian government and ENKA Renewables Ltd signed a perpetual build-own-operate agreement back in 2019. ENKA has been awarded the rights to develop, construct, own and operate the Namakhvani HPP Cascade Project in Georgia.