Health Minister: Around 2,700 IDP families to receive new apartments

“This is not the fulfillment of an obligation, but rather confirmation of the care shown by the state and the government toward internally displaced people,” Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs Mikheil Sarjveladze said while addressing an event marking the transfer of apartments to IDP families.

According to Sarjveladze, caring for citizens—particularly internally displaced citizens—and genuinely addressing their problems is a top priority for the state.

“I welcome Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze, without whose support and direct involvement this project could not have been implemented. It is thanks to his daily engagement that 1,600 displaced families are celebrating moving into their new homes today.

“I also welcome the mayor of our capital and thank him for his personal support and efforts to make all of this possible. I welcome representatives of the local authorities, members of the government and Parliament, the head and members of the government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, as well as every guest who has gathered here and who, alongside sharing the immense joy and happiness of these families, also shares their sadness caused by longing for their homeland.

“Here you can see 11 residential buildings comprising 2,426 apartments, as well as well-developed outdoor infrastructure, sports fields and children’s spaces. Similar projects are underway in several cities across Georgia, and as a result, approximately 2,700 displaced families will celebrate receiving new homes in the near future.

“These projects, worth nearly GEL 300 million, together with the GEL 280 million project in Tbilisi and other projects being implemented in parallel, such as the ‘Go to the Village’ program, will fundamentally change the situation of displaced families in Georgia.

“This is not the fulfillment of an obligation, but confirmation of the care shown by the state and the government toward internally displaced people. The fact that the funds allocated specifically for the resettlement of displaced people currently nearly equal ten times Georgia’s entire annual budget in 2012 is, in itself, telling. It demonstrates that caring for its citizens, particularly displaced citizens, and genuinely addressing their problems is a top priority for the state.

“Dear fellow citizens, may we soon have the opportunity to celebrate your return to the Abkhazia and Samachablo you long for and that is cherished by all of us,” Sarjveladze said.