Tbilisi Mayor on Rike Tubes: Structure to be relocated, but future site development is outside City Hall’s purview

“Tbilisi City Hall has granted permission for the dismantling of the so-called Rike Tubes, but what kind of commercial enterprise the private owner intends to pursue there does not fall within our competence,” Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze declared.

Kaladze explained that the Tbilisi municipality had received no correspondence from the original architects of the project. He added that the so-called Rike Tubes belong to a private owner, and therefore, the project’s authors should direct their inquiries to them.

“We have received no letter whatsoever from them. Had we received one, the relevant municipal departments would have responded. Regarding the so-called Rike Tubes, a decision has been made. It was an entirely dysfunctional structure. The tens of millions of Lari spent on this project in its day were an unjustified step. The building now belongs to a private owner, who made the decision. Neither the municipality nor the government has any involvement in this matter. You may ask such questions of the private owner. The project author can conduct such negotiations with the private owner, because whether they relocate the structure elsewhere or what kind of business activity they choose to run is outside our purview.

The application we received was for dismantling. As you know, nothing of this nature can occur without a permit from the Tbilisi City Hall Architecture Service. The decision on dismantling was made in coordination with the Cultural Heritage Protection Council,” Kakha Kaladze stated.