Tbilisi City Assembly (Sakrebulo) should not hand over the land parcels to "Tabori Resort" and "Tbilisi City"

On October 5, 2017, Tbilisi City Hall applied in writing to Tbilisi City Assembly and based on the Decrees of Tbilisi Government and two Ordinances issued by Tbilisi City Assembly requested to resolve the following issues:

1. To approve  the draft of direct privatization of the 4433sqm land parcel located in Okrokana Settlement, Tbilisi and the agreement to be signed;
2. To approve  the draft of direct privatization of the 1900 sq.m land parcel  located in Pushkin Street, the territory adjacent to Tsekavshiri, Tbilisi, and the agreement to be signed;

From the documents submitted to Sakrebulo, it has been revealed that the 4433 sq.m land parcel located in Okrokana settlement shall be transferred to the ownership of the company "Tabori Resort" through the direct disposal for GEL 102,000, and the 1900 sq.m land parcel located in Pushkin Street, Tbilisi, in the vicinity of the hotel under construction (one of the hotels of the "Panorama Tbilisi") nearby the Tsekavshiri to the ownership of LLC "Tbilisi City" for a symbolic price - 1 GEL. The projects planned by both companies are implemented with the support of the co-investment fund, which was established in 2013. The establishment of the Co-Investment Fund is linked to the former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.

We think that Tbilisi City Assembly should not support the draft decrees and agreements sent by Tbilisi City Hall due to the following circumstances:

- The Decree No. 37.10.715 issued by the Tbilisi Government on 4 October 2017, it is clear that LLC Tabori Resort shall develop golf courses, a multi-storey five star hotel and a recreational area in the owned territory. The transfer of 4433 sq.m land parcel requested by the company is linked to the arrangement of the technical facilities for the irrigation-drainage system. According to the official documents available to GYLA, the implementation of the project by the "Tabori Resort" incorporates the territory which is included in the area of ​​Tbilisi's historic landscape protection zone.

-  Implementation of the project in the historical landscape protection zone is confirmed by the official document (map) submitted by the Ministry of Culture and Monuments Protection of Georgia in 2016, in which the historical landscape protection zone of Tbilisi and additional recommended boundary zones are pointed out. According to the Law of Georgia on Cultural Heritage, implementation of similar projects in the historical landscape protection zone is inadmissible;

- The Decree # 37.10.716 issued by the Tbilisi Government  on 4 October 2017 states that the number of underground parking lots required for the hotel under construction provided in the project by LLC "Tbilisi City" in Pushkin Street, Tbilisi is sufficient. It is therefore unclear why for the same purpose the Tbilisi Government should transfer 1900 sq.m. land parcel to the company’s ownership for a symbolic price of GEL 1;

- Arrangement of at least 30 underground parking lots and 1 million GEL investment by the LLC "Tbilisi City" in return of obtaining the property for 1 GEL is not a case of "high public interest," as it is demonstrated in the decree of the Tbilisi Municipality Government;

- On the pretext of the "High Society Interest", handing over 1900 sq.m of the land parcel for the symbolic price in order to arrange 30 underground parking lots for the hotel owned by the private company is unreasonable and contradicts the rules of rational disposal of the property owned by the municipality.

We urge Tbilisi City Assembly to follow and comply with the Georgian legislation and refrain from agreeing with the draft decrees and agreements signed by Tbilisi City Hall, also, take into account the interest of the society and ensure the transparent decision making process over the issue.