Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Any elections in a democratic country include discussions of painful topics which cause huge public interest. Ahead of the presidential elections in Georgia one such topic is the construction of a second giant hydro-electric power station on the Inguri River.
The first Inguri HEP was constructed in the 1980s, and nowadays it is essential to the Georgian economy. According to experts, if it weren't for this hydro-electric power station Georgia couldn’t have overcome the electric power crisis in the 1990s. The Inguri HEP was one of the major hydro-electic power stations of the USSR, even considering numerous HEPs on the great rivers of Russia and Ukraine.
However, energy demand grew; and in Soviet Georgia an idea was born to construct a second giant station on the Inguri River, near the village of Khudoni. Meanwhile, the communist era was coming to an end in Georgia; various informal nationalist organizations were appearing, including the Greens. They held demonstrations under the motto: “Don’t let them turn Ingury into a swamp!” and accused the authorities of disparaging the environment in a unique region of Georgia – mountain Svanetia. Soon all talks about construction of a second HEP ended – Moscow didn’t give money, and Georgia becoming an independent state fell to the dark electric power crisis of the 1990s, when people had electricity only 6 hours a day. According to power experts, if the country had an additional 700 MW (the planned capacity of the projected HEP), a whole generation wouldn’t be raised by candlelight.
Only a few years ago, due to electricity power imports from Russia and Azerbaijan and an accumulation of the capacities of the Tbilisi Combined Heat and Power Station, the situation with electricity power supply was improved. However, economists state that if Georgia wants to develop its economy, it needs new capacities urgently. So the idea of reviving the project of the Khudoni HEP was born. An investor was soon found – the company Trans Electrica Limited, which is financed by an Indian bank. The profitability and usefulness of the project cause no doubts. But the problem is that construction of a big dam will lead to the swamping of the historic village of Khaishi, with its ancient church and graves. Environmentalists mention a threat to the flora and fauna of the Inguri basin by the construction of the second giant HEP.
The government of Ivanishvili could agree with the Greens. At least they are unlikely to prevent the construction. The problem of the Svan population is much more difficult. The Svan are proud people; they are true Caucasian mountain people. So the statement by a representative of the investing company on its readiness “to build a new Khaishi, transfer the church and graves there” caused indignation on their part. Khaishi residents made a vow to the Virgin Mary in the ancient church that they would die, but prevent the construction of Khudoni HEP.
The vow led the process to a dead end. On the one hand, the residents of the village cannot retract the vow and can be resettled only by force. Hints by the minister of energy, former football player Kakha Kaladze, of a “generous reward” only stir up people's indignation.
The government of Ivanishvili faced an unpleasant choice: to violate liabilities to the investor, which has already spent dozens of milliona of dollars on projecting and initial works (the general volume of planned investments is $600 million) or to oppose not only the residents of Lower Svaneti, but also the quite powerful ethnic group of the Svan who live in the country.
Moreover, the Inguri is a frontier river between Georgia and Abkhazia. The Inguri HEP was used both by Georgia and Abkhazia for all these years, after the war of 1992-1993. The dam is situated on territory controlled by Georgia, while the station is in the Galsky Region of Abkhazia. Cooperation between Georgian and Abkhaz power suppliers wasn’t interrupted even by the events of 2008. But construction of a new giant HEP without consultations with the Abkhaz side could lead to serious problems. And the Georgian authorities have to settle the issue ahead of all the other problems impeding another project of the century.
