In an appeal to Tbilisi City Hall and the City Council, several non-governmental organisations express their objection to the development of skyscrapers near Laguna Vere, the now-defunct Soviet-era sports complex.

According to NGOs, this initiative will demolish the city’s historical area and severely strain traffic capacity.

“At a government meeting, Tbilisi’s Mayor officially backed the project’s idea and created assurances for its construction; nevertheless, the architectural proposal and the key studies required by law have yet to be submitted and thus addressed. Furthermore, the pre-project research does not provide sufficient information about the construction’s impact on engineering, residential, social, and recreational infrastructure, raising the risk of confirming another precedent of ruling in favour of a powerful private individual at the expense of the public interest. We feel that the project’s concept risks destroying the city’s historical district and further disturbing traffic capacity,” NGOs say in a statement.

Several non-governmental organisations and architects have signed the statement.