The mayoral candidate of the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party and current mayor of the capital, Kakha Kaladze, together with Deputy Mayor Giorgi Tkemaladze, presented to the public planned projects in the direction of transport and urban development policy.

At the event attended by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, and City Council Chairman Zurab Abashidze, Kakha Kaladze stated that the projects undertaken by Tbilisi City Hall as part of its transport and urban development policy have already yielded tangible results, although challenges still persist.

“We are presenting plans to the public in a direction which I believe is one of the greatest challenges not only for us, but for the entire world. Transport and urban development policy is a direction which is both certain achievements and future challenges. I won’t start listing what steps we’ve taken in recent years in this direction. Our achievements speak for themselves: transport systems that previously struggled under criticism are no longer in operation within the city; waiting times have been reduced; chaotic development has ceased; we now have a land use master plan guiding the sustainable development of our capital, and so on. However, all this doesn’t mean that existing problems in this direction have been solved with a wave of the hand,” Kakha Kaladze declared.

According to him, recent statistics indicate that the city is developing and expanding, which in turn means that the demand for road rehabilitation, bridge construction, infrastructure improvements, and similar projects is increasing.

“If we look at just the past four years, the daily indicator of automobiles in the capital is sharply increasing. A few days ago, on September 19, during a 24-hour period, 841,000 automobiles were moving in Tbilisi, whilst on September 19, 2022, this indicator was 586,000. This means that the city is developing and the population is growing, which automatically increases demand for road rehabilitation, bridge construction, additional transport, infrastructure improvement, and so forth.

We mustn’t forget that more automobiles in the city means more traffic jams and complicated movement for both private and public transport users. Despite increased demand, we cannot allow Tbilisi to become merely a city of automobiles. Tbilisi, with its history and unique landscape, must be equally accessible to everyone, whether a private car passenger or pedestrian. It’s our duty to create such an environment and infrastructure that citizens themselves choose whether to travel by private car or choose other, alternative means of transport, including eco-friendly transport,” the Mayor of Tbilisi noted.

Kakha Kaladze thanked the central government and its leader for their support. He also thanked foreign and local experts for being actively involved in implementing beneficial projects for the city.

“We are still at the stage of reforms which have already produced corresponding results in Europe’s developed cities over decades. Therefore, we’re not trying to invent something new. On the contrary, we don’t want to conduct experiments. We want to adopt the best examples which have already worked in successful and developed countries,” Kakha Kaladze declared.

The capital’s mayor also addressed sceptics who react negatively to every initiative undertaken by the municipality, emphasising that over the next four years, the city will become greener and more organised.

“We strive to correct the mistakes that happen to everyone, but be aware that targeted malice aimed at damaging the city is ultimately doomed to failure. You cannot make us tired, because we are united by one great spirit, a love for this city, and love is never shattered by anything.

I promise that over the next four years, we will do everything possible to make our capital greener, improve public transport, create more pedestrian and cycling paths, promote eco-friendly transport, and enhance the city’s ecological situation. I thank everyone who cares for, looks after, and treats our environment as if it were their own child. I have always been, am, and will remain everyone’s mayor, regardless of political or social views.
Peace to Georgia, more goodness to Tbilisi. Victory and success to our team and to every family living in this city,” declared Kakha Kaladze.