Incumbent Tbilisi Mayor presents environmental protection projects planned for next 4 years

Kakha Kaladze, the ruling Georgian Dream party’s candidate for Tbilisi Mayor and the incumbent head of the capital, on Thursday introduced upcoming projects in environmental protection to the public, outlining his vision for the city over the next four years.

In his remarks, Kaladze emphasised the importance of recreational spaces, noting that projects implemented by City Hall in recent years had restored a “park culture” in the capital.

“When in 2017 we promised that Tbilisi would become a ‘City Full of Life,’ we meant exactly what we see today – parks, squares, and recreational spaces filled with people of all ages, and young people gathering in sports and skate parks,” Kaladze said.

He highlighted that large-scale efforts had been carried out to green neighbourhoods across the capital, with once-neglected areas turned into parks. Kaladze also underlined the significance of the city’s General Land Use Plan, which prohibits construction on designated recreational areas.

He said the City Hall had worked to end the harmful practice of privatising green zones for construction purposes, reclaiming a number of important sites through land swaps with private owners.

“Business and development must move forward, but not at the expense of recreational spaces, forests, or clean air. Profitable projects should serve to create an ecologically clean living environment,” Kaladze stressed, adding that every infrastructural project and construction permit issued by the municipality now includes a green component.

Kaladze pledged that his administration would continue efforts to improve the city’s environment: “I can promise you we will not stop until we achieve our goals and leave behind a much more orderly environment for our children and even our opponents, because this city belongs to everyone and is not anyone’s political property”.