“How Can 13 Dams and High-voltage Lines be the Future of Khevi?” – Protest in Kazbegi

To build Kamara HPP, with a capacity of 16.62 MW, the Tergi River should be channeled into iron pipes for another 5 kilometers from Kanobi to Goriskikhe. Due to the already operating hydroelectric power plants in Kazbegi, the valleys of Tergi and Khde are already dried up during summer, which is why the villagers are against the construction of another hydroelectric power plant.

“13 dams and high-voltage lines, how can this be good for the future of the valley?

The position of the people is the same as it was two years ago when we refused this company. Kamara HPP project is part of the plan to build 13 HPPs in Kazbegi. If this passes, what can we do then, why not another one?

People will not be able to live here anymore so that three people can make millions.

We do not even know to whom they are giving the land and water of the ravine. They don't even bother to disclose the names of who is behind this company, registered offshore... Maybe they are enemies? When you are alienating land in a borderline region, the first priority in any such project should be state security. In every small hydropower plant built recently in this country, they are operating miners' farms and making money. Khevsureti is an example of this,” says Shota Buchukuri, a Kazbegi resident.

“Owners of the three hydroelectric power plants built in the Dariali valley made 108 million. How did we, the locals, benefit? There is a project per which the Tergi River should be channeled in a pipe from Kobi to the border.

How should we live here then?” - says local Shavleg Sabauri.

Mountain Stories published a report regarding the Russian ties of Kamara Energy LLC in September. The major shareholder of Larsi HPP and Dariali HPP, the latest-built dams in Kazbegi, is also a citizen of the Russian Federation.

According to the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili, the Kamara HPP project will proceed only with support from the population.

“As far as I know, a discussion should be held with the population. If there is support from the population, the project will commence. This is the responsibility taken up by the investor when deciding to participate in the competition. When it comes to public relations, there are social issues, compensation, economics, etc. If the investor believes that he can offer more to the population with the new package and get support, we welcome it, however, the HPP will be built only if there is a consensus in this regard,” Davitashvili said.

According to local activists, the mayor of Kazbegi is actively lobbying for the Kamara HPP project, and other public officials are also involved in the process on his orders. On November 21, Mountain Stories reported that the mayor of Kazbegi, Bakur Avsajanishvili, beat a resident protesting the construction of Kamara HPP. The incident happened during a funeral ceremony in the village of Arsha.

Kamara Energy responded to the protest of the population and the report of Mountain Stories with a paid statement through various agencies.

“This harmful disinformation campaign disguised as a noble purpose of caring for the environment, which is organized by certain political groups, their media, and their affiliated “experts” or so-called “eco-activists” actually aims to mislead the population of Georgia and, especially, the population of Kazbegi municipality by spreading false and slanderous information, and in the end, hinder the development of the strategically important field - hydropower,” says the statement.

The company emphasizes that as a result of “fruitful cooperation with the population” the project was changed and the HPP, whose tunnel covered the entire valley, was transformed into a relatively simple project with a 16.5 MW steel pipeline; many geological, geophysical, and geotechnical studies were carried out by highly competent international companies and Georgian specialists during the planning of the HPP. It is known to Mountain Stories that the geological part of the project prepared on the order of Kamara Energy is the work of the geologist Professor Archil Maghalashvili. He is also the author of the geological part of the development regulation plan for the Shovi resort in Racha. The Oni City Council approved the plan on December 22, 2022, and the groups associated with Georgian Dream received the right to build 18-meter hotel-type residential buildings. In 7 months, on August 3, 2023, this exact area was completely swallowed by a landslide from Mount Buba, destroying everything in its path and killing 33 people.

Kamara Energy also denies that the river will dry up in case the dam is built. The company promises that even in the most critical and sensitive periods of water scarcity, the environmental cost of the Tergi River will be preserved “following the best international practices”.

Kamara Energy promises the population that they will receive social support unprecedentedly throughout Georgia, negotiations are underway and some agreements have been reached.

The company categorically denies the Russian ties of the investor and says that the only shareholder is businessman Sulkhan Papashvili. “Neither Ucha Mamatsashvili (Bidzina Ivanishvili's cousin) nor one Karichashvili, whose names are deliberately circulated by the organizers and executors of the disinformation campaign, have any connection with the said project," the statement reads.