A special interagency commission has been established to ensure the smooth implementation of infrastructure projects under the construction of “Government City” in Tbilisi. The corresponding decree was signed by Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze, the BPN agency reports.
According to the document, the Prime Minister himself will head the commission. The Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia has been invited to join as Deputy Chairman of the commission, while the Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure has been appointed as the second Deputy Chairman.
The commission will also include:
Ministers: of Foreign Affairs; of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs; of Economy and Sustainable Development; of Culture; of Environmental Protection and Agriculture; of Education, Science and Youth; as well as the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality.
Heads of municipal and other agencies: the Mayor of Tbilisi, the Head of the Government Administration, the Head of the Special State Protection Service, the Head of the Government Delivery Unit, and the Executive Director of the Municipal Development Fund (MDF). A representative of the MDF has been appointed Secretary of the commission.
What are the main tasks of the commission?
Under the statute, the interagency commission is vested with broad powers. Its key functions include:
- defining priorities and the sequence of work in the construction of “Government City”;
- approving design solutions and architectural concepts;
- promptly resolving issues arising during project implementation;
- where necessary, formulating recommendations to amend contracts concluded following public tenders.
Organizational and technical support for the commission’s activities has been assigned to the Municipal Development Fund of Georgia.
The powers of the established commission will be terminated once all infrastructure activities planned under the “Government City” project are fully completed.
The decree entered into force immediately upon publication.
For context: a 4.463-million-lari tender for the construction of “Government City” announced by the Municipal Development Fund on January 9 this year was canceled.
The procurement concerned services for the preparation of a master plan and schematic designs for “Government City” on Gedevanishvili Street (the former “Arsenal Hill”) in Tbilisi’s Chugureti district.
Regarding the reasons for canceling the tender, according to procurement documentation, commission members deemed it appropriate to revise the technical terms of reference for the competition.
As a reminder, the ruling Georgian Dream party had planned the construction of “Government City” back in 2017. Giorgi Kvirikashvili, who served as Prime Minister at the time, stated that the complex would be located in the Ortachala district.
The project envisioned consolidating all ministries into a single complex, intended to elevate public and corporate administrative services to a qualitatively new level.
However, later in 2019, Natia Turnava (then Minister of Economy) stated that the project’s implementation was no longer under consideration due to a shift in government priorities. In December of last year, it emerged that the decision had been made to build “Government City” in Chugureti rather than Ortachala.