Ministry of Economy provides four studies that show benefits of Namakhvani HPP
By Khatia Bzhalava
Thursday, June 3
On Wednesday, the Georgian Economy Ministry published the results of the economic studies in which the financial and economic viability of the Namakhvani HPP project is assessed. The Ministry claims the Namakhvani HPP project is one of the most well-studied projects in the Georgian energy sector.
According to the ministry’s statement, during 2007-2009, four different independent consulting companies conducted economic evaluation studies for the Namakhvani HPP. The major objective of the three studies was to assess the energy sector and develop future plans and the fourth study assessed the socio-economic benefits of the project.
In December 2007, the Strategic Environmental Assessment of Georgia’s Energy System was carried out with funding from the World Bank. As the Ministry reports, the study revealed that “the Namakhvani HPP project is considered to be the best project for the Georgian energy system.” The research was carried out by the Serbian-Italian Group (SEEC).
As the statement reads, according to another survey conducted by Georgian company Gamma Consulting in 2015, the benefits that the construction of HPP can bring significantly outweigh the harm that the project implementation may cause.
In August 2018, per the request of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, McKinsey & Company prepared a report, which mentions Namakhvani HPP as “an economically justified energy facility” that fully meets international standards.
The fourth study conducted by NERA Economic Consulting company in January 2019 said that the Namakhvani HPP is one of the project's economic and energy characteristics which allow the implementation of construction according to the least-cost methodology. The study also analyzes the fiscal pressure to build the HPP and reports that considering the other positive factors of the project, this pressure is not considered critical and is several times less than the fiscal pressure of other large strategic projects.
The Ministry of Economy states that the contract with a tender-winning Turkish company- Enka fully complies with international standards.
The protests against the HPP construction have been underway in western Georgia for almost six months. Locals and other anti-Namakhvani protesters claim that the construction was launched without sufficient research and thorough consideration of risks, including immediate security risks due to active seismic activity. The Georgian government suspended the HPP construction for 9 to 12 months until the environmental, geological, and seismological surveys are reviewed, however, protesters continue rallies as they believe the HPP would be built regardless.
Yesterday, Heidi Hautala, Vice President of the European Parliament reacted to the ongoing protests and mentioned the Namakhvani HPP project as “a backward and destructive economic model.”
“I welcome this new kind of mobilization of Georgian people against a backward and destructive economic model. Lack of transparency and accountability with secret contracts is shocking,” the MEP tweeted.
Yesterday, a rally was held in support of one of the protesters Irakli Mukbaniani who was detained in Sakulia village in the Imereti region of Georgia for assaulting a police officer during a demonstration several days ago. The committed crime counts from 4 to 7 years of imprisonment. Mukbaniani’s family members, his relatives and other anti-Namakhvani protesters claim that his detention is a provocation and staged by the government.
