Tbilisi City Hall has categorically refuted reports claiming that a hotel is planned to be built in Rike Park. According to municipal authorities, they received only an initial project application, which proved to be incomplete.
“We wish to respond to reports circulated by several media outlets claiming that the company ‘Rike Dome’ is allegedly seeking permission to construct a 10-story hotel in the Rike area. The circulated information is an absolute falsehood and serves to mislead the public. We emphasize that no such project has been submitted to the Tbilisi Municipality.”
According to City Hall, the Transport and Urban Development Agency received an application requesting the approval of urban planning terms for a development regulation plan in Rike Park. However, the required documentation for review was not submitted alongside the application, including the project proposal, an explanatory note, and a preliminary design concept, which would subsequently need to be examined by the Cultural Heritage Council.
“Accordingly, at this stage, the municipality is reviewing neither the application nor, even more so, any construction project.
We urge media representatives to rely exclusively on verified information, not to disseminate falsehoods, and not to mislead the public,” City Hall stated.
Earlier, media reports suggested that a hotel could be built on the site of the so-called “Rike Jugs” (the tubular concert hall structures), which are currently being dismantled. Specifically, TV Pirveli reported that the company “Rike Dome” had requested City Hall to change the park territory’s zoning status to make construction possible.