Georgia to have world-class tourist attraction at Enguri HPP
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, July 21
In several years, Georgia will have a large-scale and multifunctional tourist center at the Enguri Hydro Power Plant (HPP) in the Upper Svaneti Region, close to Georgia’s breakaway Abkhazia region.
The project concept of the new tourist attraction was presented at the Enguri HPP by the Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, on Wednesday.
The PM explained that the new tourist complex has only one analogue in the world - namely the Hoover Hydro Power Plant located in California, USA.
“With the help of this project we have the opportunity today to maintain our industrial heritage and, moreover, to turn it into sightseeing…the unique Enguri HPP building, whose arched dam is the second largest in the world, deserves the status of an industrial and cultural heritage monument,” Kvirikashvili stated.
He noted that the investment capacity of construction work will be about 50 million GEL and negotiations with potential private investors have already been started.
“The project preparation will take one year, after which construction works will be launched. The construction will take roughly five years and we will have the highest level of tourism infrastructure that will be a very important piece of partnership between the state and private sector,” the PM said.
Kvirikashvili claimed that over 200 locals would be employed during the construction process, and after the completion of the complex the site would create over 100 permanent jobs.
The Prime Minister expressed regret that Abkhazians and Georgians are divided from each other and said that his dream was that Abkhazia could also benefit from the Enguri HPP.
“I really believe that the time will come when Georgians and Abkhazians will again reunite in the spirit of common interests,” he claimed, and expressed hope that Enguri HPP will become a place of reconciliation of Abkhazians and Georgians.
The Enguri HPP project was developed by specialists of different fields and the tourist infrastructure will be expanded on 157 hectares. The complex will have an educational and discovery centers, museum and information space, cable, concert hall, shipping infrastructure, and will be the world's highest 280-meter elevator and extreme sports facility.
The project implementation strategy was developed by a leading European company, Koko Architecture, and experienced Estonian specialists. The government has announced a tender for designing the project, and 2 million GEL was allocated from the state budget for this purpose.
It is expected that the Enguri Tourist Attraction will serve around 400,000 tourists every year, which will be very profitable for the country.
