After a two-year hiatus, the government resumed the discussion of the Kamara hydroelectric power station (HPP, hereafter) construction project in Kazbegi. The river Tergi will be channeled into iron pipes for another 5 kilometers, from Kanobi to Goristsikhe. The local population is against the construction of another HPP in the region. The main reason is that because of already-built dams, the valleys of Tergi and Khde are completely dried out during the summer. For the smooth operation of the HPP, all the water is redirected to pressure pipelines. According to locals, the waterless valleys no longer attract tourists, and tourism is the main source of income in this area. Should the government overcome the protest of the locals, the construction of 9 more HPPs is planned in the Kazbegi municipality – there will be no valley left within the region where the river flows freely.
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The installed capacity of Kamara HPP is calculated at 16.62 MW. According to the project, the hydroelectric plant will generate 77.21 GWh of electricity per year and contribute to meeting the growing energy demand. Kamara Energy LLC is interested in the construction of the HPP.
The director of the company, Tamar Papava, tried to convince the locals that the construction of the dam would significantly improve their financial situation and create new jobs, unconvinced, the locals disrupted all three public hearings of the scoping report - in Goristsikhe, Sioni and Kazbegi.
Company director - we consume 14 billion kWh of electricity, 4 of which are supplied by Enguri Dam, isn't it so? No to HPPs is not the right policy.
Mokhevians (local populace) – who says no to HPPs?
Director – so we agree on yes to HPPs…
Mokhevians – don’t phrase the issue like that, we did not agree on anything.
Director - what about the residents of Jvari, Khaishi, and the rest who put food on our table, they have Enguri [dam].
Mokhevians – who do they feed?
Director – all of us, the nation.
Mokhevians – that dam serves the selected few, it doesn’t do us much good.
The construction of the pressure pipe, which should supply water to the dam from Kanobi to Goristsikhe, is planned along the left side of the Tergi River, at the foot of the villages scattered on the slopes of the mountain range. The pipeline will be laid in a trench more than 4 meters deep, in some places even deeper. The width of the construction corridor will be 10 meters. The authors of the project reassure the population that no drilling and blasting will be used during the construction works, the rocks will be broken with special breakers (kodala), and the soil will be dug using excavators and bulldozers. The locals are afraid that active works at the foot of the mountain, below the villages, may upset the soil and trigger landslides. At the meeting, they confronted geologist Archil Maghalashvili, who is responsible for the geological side of the project commissioned by Kamara Energy.
‘’Modern cutting-edge technologies allow safe construction anywhere. If you have any doubts regarding my research, you are free to voice your concerns,’’ - these words of the geologist and his emphasis on his 48 years of experience did not stop Kazbegi resident Nona Pitskhelauri from referring him to the natural disaster that happened in Shovi. 33 people were killed in the disaster, and the body of one child has still not been found.
Nona Pitskhelauri - Who worked on Shovi's geological plan?
Geologist Archil Maghalashvili - I did, partially.
Nona Pitskhelauri - do you feel guilty?
Geologist - no.
Nona Pitkhelauri - why?
Geologist - because... I wrote everything down [in his study].
Nona Pitskhelauri - If this causes my death, will you make an excuse that you wrote everything?!
Mr. Archil, if we had a normal government, you should not be sitting here with me, but in the prosecutor's office regarding the Shovi disaster.’’
Archil Maghalashvili is the co-author of the geological part of the Shovi resort development regulation plan in Racha. The Oni City Council approved the plan on December 22, 2022, and the groups associated with the ruling party of Georgian Dream were granted the right to build 18-meter hotel-type residential buildings. In 7 months, on August 3, 2023, this exact area was completely swallowed by the mudslide from Mount Buba, which destroyed everything in its path and took lives.
The diameter of the Kamara HPP pipeline is 3 meters, it will hold most of the Tergi River water. The scoping report is based on completely outdated hydrological data from 1981-1990, and water expenditures are calculated from there. This same obsolete data is used to calculate the amounts of water for the newly built HPPs in Pankisi, Khevsureti, Khevi, and elsewhere, which is why all these valleys are left without water in summer months.
The local protesters also attacked the representatives of the local government and accused them of lobbying the interests of the company registered in the offshore. ‘’You go door to door and falsely promise people that they will have free electricity. Why are you doing this?’’ - civil activist Shota Buchukuri asked the representative of the Kazbegi City Hall.
‘’Companies registered offshore want access to our natural resources, right? The company representative tells me that it doesn't matter, money doesn't stink,’’ the local people asked Anna Gelashvili, the head of the community organization Lomek, to tell them who was betraying the Mokhevians.
‘’How does this fit the context that this is a borderline area? Who should own critical infrastructure in border regions’’ - Ilia Kazalikashvili knows that the major shareholder of the newly built Larsi HPP and Dariali HPP in Kazbegi is Mevlud Bliadze, a citizen of the Russian Federation.
Kamara Energy’s Russian ties
Kamara Energy LLC was registered in 2014. The director of the company, Tamar Papava, is also the director of Detander Georgia LLC, whose owners are former Minister of Energy Davit Mirtskhulava, Gia Adeishvili, and Russian-Georgian dual citizen Revaz Eliava. Tamar Papava also held the position of director of company Notus, whose owners are Russian and Georgian citizens Teimuraz Aronia and Giorgi Chubinishvili.
100% owner of Kamara Energy is Georgian Renewable Energy LLC. The shares of this company are equally distributed offshore, namely, between Greentree Holdings Ltd. based in St. Lucia and Carliston Venture registered in the Virgin Islands. The director of the company is Levan Matua. He also heads BinGreen Georgia LLC, whose 100% share is owned by BinGreen Ltd., a joint stock company registered in the UK and Northern Ireland. 75% of this company belongs to Giorgi Kukhaleishvili, and 25% to Sulkhan Papashvili.
Levan Matua is also the director of Iskap Ltd., whose 60% is owned by Sulkhan Papashvili. He is a member of the closest inner circle and business partner of Bidzina Ivanishvili's aunt Ucha Mamatsashvili.
As for Giorgi Kukhaleishvili, he founded the company GWP WINES AND SPIRITS LIMITED in Britain in 2020, a part of which he registered to Ucha Mamatsashvili in a few months. Together with Ucha Mamatsashvili and Giorgi Kukhaleishvili, part of the shares of this company are owned by Vakhtang Karichashvili. He is also a dual citizen of Georgia and Russia and owns 100% of the shares of Bolero & Company LLC. The company is among the top five exporters of wine from Georgia to Russia. Vakhtang Karichashvili together with Ucha Mamatsashvili owns the company Melikishshvili Inn. Ucha Mamatsashvili is also a dual citizen of Georgia and Russia.
