Gov't to purchase three new helicopters, PM Garibashvili says
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
The Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili announced at the beginning of the government session, that the government of Georgia will buy three new helicopters.
As Garibashvili mentioned, according to the decision of the government, they will sell one expensive helicopter purchased during the previous government, which, according to his own assessment, was purchased for "luxuries".
According to the Prime Minister, the Gomelauri office is conducting active negotiations regarding this, in which the Ministry of Finance also takes part.
"The Gomelauri agency is now actively working on the purchase of three new helicopters. Although all helicopters are absolutely in good condition, we pay a lot of attention to it, and we had a discussion about it. As you know, the state has one expensive, luxury helicopter, which was purchased by the previous government for the former president, and several tens of dollars or euros were paid for this helicopter. Our decision was that no one used this helicopter. I must emphasize here that despite the speculation that this helicopter is used in rescue operations, it is a lie. We had a discussion and made a decision that we will return this helicopter to its manufacturer or sell it and in return we will purchase three new helicopters, which will be useful for various rescue or other operations. Active negotiations are now underway and the Ministry of Finance is also involved in this process," PM Garibashvili said.
The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili at the briefing held after the end of the government session, when asked about the reasoning behind the decision of government purchasing new helicopters, he said:
"The situation today and years ago are as different as the sky and the earth in terms of training, equipment, technical equipment and helicopter training. The fleet of helicopters was renovated last year and the year before in order to fulfill the tasks before them today. May God protect us, but we are keeping reserves for more difficult challenges, so that if such challenges arise in the country, we will be ready,"
As Davitashvili explained, this helicopter should not be replaced with a luxury item, but with the type of flying equipment that will be used in rescue operations, emergency situations, or for other needs that the country has.
"This is a specific negotiation, a specific deal that the Prime Minister was talking about. There are negotiations with a specific manufacturer to replace this helicopter not with a luxury item, but with the type of aircraft that will be used in rescue operations, emergency situations, or other needs that the country has. There have been many speculations regarding this topic in recent days - where is the state, are we prepared or not... I remember that I was actively involved in the process of extinguishing fires in 2017, I had to work in the field, and then the country really had many challenges: equipment, training, preparation, etc. in the direction that fire changed a lot in the rescue services. The situation today and years ago are as different as heaven and earth in terms of preparation, equipment, In terms of technical equipment and training of helicopters. The fleet of helicopters was renovated last year and the year before in order to fulfill the tasks before them today. God forbid, but we are keeping reserves for more difficult challenges, so that if such challenges arise in the country, we will be ready.
Today, fortunately, this process is under control and [the fire] is being localized. We must be prepared for the coming years and it is not that we do not have the means today. And the fact that we received international aid is an absolutely natural process. In the first days, I had a conversation with my colleagues, and the transport ministers of all the neighboring countries offered to help us in this regard. This is very natural, if we can, we should stand by our neighboring and partner countries," said Davitashvili.
