TBILISI, September 10 – Aleko Elisashvili, a leader of the opposition party “Strong Georgia,” says a planned Sports Academy in Tbilisi’s Vake district will not be built and claims City Hall has agreed to a much taller office tower instead.
Speaking at a briefing, he said the current plan replaces a previously announced project that envisioned restoring the former Physical Culture Institute within a mixed-use high-rise.
According to Elisashvili, earlier plans involved a 180-meter, 50-story tower whose lower floors would house the Sports Academy. He now alleges the approved concept is a 230-meter, 70-story skyscraper. He linked the project to businessman Noshiko Namoradze and criticized incumbent mayor and Georgian Dream candidate Kakha Kaladze.
Elisashvili said that if his party’s candidate, Irakli Kupradze, wins the October 4 mayoral election, the skyscraper project “will not be implemented,” and the Sports Academy would return to the site. He presented this as a campaign pledge to Tbilisi residents.
The statements reflect the sharp tone of Georgia’s polarized local race: opposition figures frame the Vake site as a test of city planning and public interest, while City Hall and the ruling party are accused by rivals of backing oversized private developments. The article does not include a response from Kaladze, Georgian Dream, City Hall, or the businessman named by Elisashvili.
