by Ia Asatiani and Nanuka Bregadze
If we consider the recent war history of our country, it would not be difficult to guess that the Russian army can still easily split the main highway and block the road for the military units residing in the western and eastern parts of the country. We want to remind you that the nearest military base of the Russians is located four kilometers from our central highway, in the village of Orchosani, the occupied territory of Samachablo, Georgia.
The 2008 war with Russia showed us the strategic importance of the East-West bypass for the country. The only full-fledged bypass road that connects Eastern and Western Georgia goes through Akhaltsikhe to Khulo, which can be considered a military bypass (rocade).
Rocade is a military term meaning a parallel channel behind the frontline.
“This road, (rocade) is of great importance because it will be the only road of life connecting all of Georgia. It will pass at a safe distance from the Turkish border, which will be difficult for the Russians to impact on because the proximity of the Turkish border will have its own influence,” explains Vakhtang Kapanadze, the former chief of the General Staff, who until then was the Special Envoy in Poland and also worked in foreign intelligence.
According to Kapanadze, the physical presence of enemy troops on the central highway is unnecessary. In any case, the highway falls within the distance of firing damage, therefore, the development of the southern highway is important to increase the capacity of the country’s defense.
The alternative road connecting Eastern and Western Georgia will pass through Akhaltsikhe and connect to Khulo from the village of Zarzmi. It is 47 km long. In addition to the fact that this road is strategically important for the country’s security, it can also contribute to the region’s economic development. The Goderdzi resort could develop and benefit more from the existence of this road.
In 2015 “Georgian Dream” started conversations about thor project, for its development the ruling party event took a loan in 2016-17 and spent millions. However, 47 km of road has not been completed for 6 years. So far, 10 km have been paved only.
“I am a village imam, and I will talk about the perspective of people based on the saying “tell me what are the talks at the water spring”. I also noticed, and everyone says that it is done poorly, but we, as ordinary citizens must make a choice between the bad and the worse. That’s why we chose the bad one, we need a road…” – told Amiran Papidze from the Danisparauli village.
This happens because the government always entrusted road construction to companies with questionable reputations.
It is symbolic that Irakli Gharibashvili started talking about the project in 2014 during his first term as Prime Minister. Now he is still the Prime Minister, however, the Khulo-Zarzma road is about in the same condition as it was in 2014.
We pose the logical question of whether Prime Minister Gharibashvili is worried about the country’s security and the region’s economic development. The facts respond to this question.
How important is the road connecting Akhaltsikhe and Khulo?
From 2007 to 2008, Batu Kutelia was the Deputy Minister of Defense of Georgia. Now he studies issues of state security and international geopolitics. According to his observation, at this stage, the Georgian government develops the north-south part infrastructure of the country more than the east-west direction.
Kutelia thinks that we should expect incitement on the main highway as well. Therefore, we need to have a protected alternative way.
“If we consider Georgia as a link of connection between East and West, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, as well as Central Asia and European markets, and the flow of cargo grow considering the Russian sanctions… If Georgia becomes a conduit for an alternative route, then the probability that Russia tries to block this road or bring it under his control increases,” Kutelia tells us.
In his opinion, it would be better if an alternative route would be an independent highway, connected to the main highway by tunnels or crossing creating a network of roads.
“This would increase not only the military but our flexibility of response during natural disasters and local incidents” – says Kutelia.
In addition to security guarantees, an alternative route can bring economic benefits to the country and region. In the development concept of the area of the Goderdzi resort, we read that the activation of the southern route will contribute to the increase of cargo and citizen flow from Armenia to the sea. All this will benefit residents, develop their businesses, create jobs, and contribute to their socioeconomic development.
The document also states that the alternative, southern route will soften the existing transport load.
What is written in the document is also visible to Batu Kutelia. He also sees that Georgia now has a chance to find its place in the new geopolitical context due to its geographical location.
“By all logic, this road is important, and the sanctions against Russia increased its importance even more. But here we see a very important gap between the national security interests of Georgia and the narrow political or personal interests of the current government, which goes in the other direction,” Kutelia tells us.
In addition to the general economic benefits that the southern route will bring to the entire region, its importance in developing the Goderdzi resort should also be considered.
Goderdzi resort hosts tourists in all seasons. In winter it is a ski resort, and in other seasons it is a hiking destination unique to fresh humid air, views, and nature. The resort welcomed the first tourists in 2015, currently, there are more than 20 hotels, cottages, and family houses in the Goderdzi resort and its surrounding villages.
In 2017, the government financed the renovation of the access road from the central highway to Goderdzi and the internal road with 4 million GEL. This is when the central road is still unfinished.
Traveling from Tbilisi to Goderdzi via Batumi will take you 10 hours by off-road car. From the Didadjara village to Khulo municipality, the road is not laid with asphalt.
In 2016 at the Goderdzi resort development plan presentation, the Minister of Finance and Economy of Adjara, Ramaz Bolkvadze, said that the development of this place would improve the region’s socio-economic situation, extend the tourist season in Adjara, attract investments, and employ locals.
Rusiko Mgeladze built a family hotel in Goderdzi resort in 2022. She says that now they have a good season. There are tourists, however, the road infrastructure is a problem, and she hopes that next year this problem will be solved which would contribute to an increase in tourists.
“There are delays on the road due to the construction works, but they are trying to keep the roads clean. Some people like extreme situations and have no problem, but there are several tourists who express dissatisfaction because of the road,” Mgeladze told us.
Amiran Papidze opened the family hotel “Anri” 6 years ago, when the Goderdzi resort development plan was announced. He says an unarranged road is not as problematic in winter as in other seasons. In winter, the most important thing is to clear the snow from the road. In the summer, one of his Polish guests said that, regardless of the amazing nature, and even if everything were free here, he would not get back there because of the road.
“Almost every day, the tow truck goes around. People travel also with low-terrain vehicles, which is difficult to move around, sometimes they would hit the car in, sometimes it would break,” Papidze said in an interview with “iFact”.
He also told us that compared to previous years, the road construction works were progressing better in 2022, although he does not hope the road to be complete in 2023: “It will not be finished even if you work day and night.”
In addition to family hotels, there are also large chain hotels in Goderdzi resort. For their construction in 2019-2021, the state program “Enterprise Georgia” spent 1.6 million GEL.
Suspicious Tender
To see the road condition, we have been there in October. We started inspecting the construction works from Khulo. We reached the Goderdzi Pass in such a way that we met only one worker, another person who worked, and three parked (stopped) tractors on the way. The road to the pass was not leveled. The drains missed each other, and the gabions were damaged and broken.
We started the reconstruction-rehabilitation of the Khulo-Goderdzi road section with the loan money allocated by the Kuwait Foundation. We signed the 70 million GEL loan agreement at 2.5% with a five-year grace period for 25 years on 17 January 2017. It turns out that we should have already started paying its interest. The road, which should now be fully operational, is not even half paved.
In 2018, the branch of the Italian company, Todini Costruzioni Generaly, was announced as the winner of the tender out of 4 participating companies. One of them, Sadeem al Kuwait for General Trading & Contracting Company, for construction works demanded 90 million GEL, 20 million GEL cheaper than Todini. “Todini’s” say equaled 110 million.
“Todini” and its work have already been known to the Roads Department of Georgia. It should have been expected that this company would not complete the works within the stipulated time, just as it did not complete the construction of the Samtredia-Grigoleti road started in 2017.
The company had a negative experience not only in Georgia but also in Ukraine and Azerbaijan.
Although the Department of Roads could not have chosen “Todini” because the tender format allowed it, they still decided to select this company. In an official letter, they answered that they could not decide the disqualification of the company on their own.
“The results of procurement within the ongoing projects funded by international financial institutions and donor organizations are agreed with the funding organization, which may consider improper fulfillment of obligations as an insufficient basis for disqualification, and the bidder cannot be disqualified,” – replied the Department.
Therefore, what was expected happened. The Italian company started the work on the Khulo-Zarzmi section late and could not finish it. According to the contract, “Todini” had to complete the entire Khulo-Zarzma section by October 2020.
While there the locals told us that “Todini” just stopped construction work one day. Abandoned its machinery, and since then no one has appeared there. At that place, there are abandoned technical equipment on the site, we counted 16 tractors.
There is also a technical base in the village of Dioknisi, where the company’s staff lived. Everything is damaged, the windows are broken, the ceiling has fallen, the beds and other things are damaged. There seems to haven’t even been a watchman there for a long time.
“Todini” appeared in Georgia in 2009 and until 2017 it built Kutaisi-Zestafoni Road, Kutaisi bypass, Gori tunnels and Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze 15 km road section.
Finally, in February 2020, seven months before the completion of the construction works, while the project was supposed to be in its final phase, the Department of Roads decided to terminate the contract with “Todini”. At that time, not a single meter of the road was built on the Khulo-Zarzmi road section. The Department of Roads wrote that they did not transfer money to the company. Unfortunately, we cannot verify this information, because information about transactions is not public and we have to trust only the statement of the Ministry. According to the Department of Roads, the company’s guarantor bank deposited 11 million GEL in the state budget of Georgia.
“Todini” has been exposed to fraudulent schemes in different countries. For instance, in 2018, the Deputy Minister of Transport was bribed in Kazakhstan and paid USD 50,000 to win the tender. Azimkan Zhusubaliyev, the commercial director of the “Todini” branch in Almaty, was also arrested during the investigation. This story was followed by the resignation of the Minister of Transport.
“Todini” was the main subcontractor in the Alat-Astari road construction works in Azerbaijan. The company also missed the deadlines there, paid low wages to the employees, performed the work in poor quality, and the government terminated the contract. The Azerbaijani media has been writing about these problems since 2011. Finally, the contract was terminated, and the company left Azerbaijan in 2015.
“Todini” has issues with the Department of Roads of Ukraine. The contract for the rehabilitation of the Kyiv-Odesa highway was terminated in 2016. The company sued “Ukravtodor” in the courts of England and Wales.
According to the 2014 census results, there are about 20 villages along the Khulo-Zarzma road with more than 6,500 people living.
This path is vital for them. Ambulances and fire engines should reach the people this way if necessary. Locals say that sometimes this gets impossible in winter.
Mzevinar Ghorjomelidze lives in the village of Dioknisi with her son and husband. She says that this road makes living difficult in winter because the car cannot access the place. Also, it is difficult in summer when her house is covered in dust because of the road.
“How should I believe in finalizing the construction of this road? If this road is built, many tourists will stop and spend the night. Everyone dislikes the road as it is now,” Ghorjomelidze told us.
Dato from Khulo (the name has been changed because he asked us to do so) tells us that the unarranged road and everything make their life more expensive: “Akhaltsikhe is 86 kilometers from here, Batumi is 81 kilometers. It is the same distance, but the Akhaltsikhe market is much cheaper. But since there is no road, it is expensive to get there.”
According to him, tourists no longer return to this place for the same reason. “Now if you cross this road by car, will you want to cross it again? That’s how this Resort works. Once a person gets there, he/she/they don’t want to do it again,” – Dato tells us.
Chinese – Georgian cooperation
In April 2020, the Department of Roads announced another tender. In August, when the road was supposed to be completed, a new company was identified as the road repair company. In the new tender, the department changed the tender requirements. It divided 47 km into three parts. The repair of 42 kilometers was assigned to the Chinese company “Sinohydro” for 102.7 million GEL. And the Georgian company “Mamison” had to build 5 km from Khulo in the direction of Goderdzi resort for 18 million GEL.
The works of “Sinohydro” had to be completed within 2 years from the signing of the contract. However, the deadline for the completion of the works was extended to the end of 2023, because the company has paved only five kilometers from Akhaltsikhe to the village of Utkisi.
The Department of Roads justifies this by saying that the company has done the main works, meaning the arrangement of artificial buildings, on the entire 42 km of road. However, they do not focus on the quality of the work performed.
The photos present the quality of the works, which is easy to detect for a person who does not have sufficient knowledge:
“They have made gabions, the road is below, and the gabion is above, how will it work? The supporting wall is completely removed,” – Zaza Saginadze, the Dioknisi villager, shows these places.
While there, we met the representative of the Mayor in Dioknisi, Guram Kakhadze, he promised to meet in the same place after a year and we will see the road meeting modern standards.
“Here is the land erosion. As the land has been removed to expand the road, it needs time to stabilize and therefore the focus of the works has shifted to the east. Then winter will come, the conditions will get difficult, and intensive work starts here in Summer and will be finished in a year. I think the company is working so well,” – Kakhadze told us.
After we asked about the deadlines and delayed work, he answered that there are gas construction works carried out in parallel, and the company cannot pave the asphalt until it is finished.
Unlike the mayor’s representative, locals are dissatisfied with the work and pace of “Sinohydro”. According to them, the finalization of the construction work would take at least two years.
“If it (the previous company) was stopped, the new company should have been better. But the situation is worse. They were supposed to finish in two years, but it’s the third year and still nothing. If now the Chinese company is responsible, they should do as they deem necessary, but it is very problematic. Asphalts are paved from the Zarzma side, for one kilometer, then there is a gap, and paved in places where there is less problematic area” know that there will be no problem with the asphalt,” – Zaza Saginadze, Dioknisi villager tells us.
“I am 39 years old and they have been doing it for as long as I can remember. For so long, a man would do it alone. They promise us every year that it will be finished, but I hear this for 39 years.” Dato told us (the name has been changed. He asked us to do so to avoid danger or no one be offended).
We have also written many times about the unethical activities of “Sinohydro”. Apart from us, many media and international anti-corruption organizations have written about this company over the years. The Malaysian office of “Transparency International” called “Sinohydro” a “monument of corruption”.
The World Bank used the highest sanction against this company and deprived it of the right to participate in tenders for three years from December 2013. Moreover, the company was prohibited from subcontracting, consulting, or providing other types of services in projects financed by the World Bank.
“Sinohydro” was fined 2.2 million dollars in Kyrgyzstan for poor quality construction. In Armenia and Botswana, the tender was terminated due to the low-quality performance of the works. In 2017, the African Development Bank blacklisted “Sinohydro” due to damage caused by constructing a hydropower dam in Uganda.
However, in Georgia, the company has the right to everything. For instance, the part of the Samtredia-Grigoleti road was completed two years later than the envisaged period. The project was changed in its own way, which created a problem of road stability, flooded villages, illegally cut down trees, and finally caused 2.8 million GEL damage to the environment. They did not get any response from the government. Moreover, the government gives them new million-dollar tenders.
In 2020, “Mamison” LLC was assigned to arrange and pave the initial 5 km section from Khulo to Goderdzi. This company took over the rehabilitation of the Gotsiridze metro station in Tbilisi in November 2021 and was supposed to complete it in June 2022, although the Gotsiridze metro station has not yet opened.
Besides, “Mamison” has built a dysfunctional cemetery in Batumi for 3.4 million. The company took the money but did not perform the work properly. This case is being investigated by the Batumi Prosecutor’s Office. In 2020, this story was already known, and the Department of Roads could easily find information about it.
As was expected, the company could not fulfill its obligations to construct the 5 km road section of Khulo-Zarzmi. The tender was terminated on 5 August 2022. By this time, the company had already received 8 million GEL from the state budget. In January 2022, when “Mamison” requested the Department of Roads to extend the deadline again, the contract was terminated unilaterally.
In the fall of 2022, the construction of a 5 km long road was assigned to a new company, “New Road” LLC. “New Road” and its subcontractor “BP Trans” started work in September and have already completed the road construction. The repair of this section cost seven million GEL.
Locals call the asphalt-paved section “instant Europe”. And after 6 years of work and tens of millions of GEL spent the distance of “instant Europe” is only 10 km long.
