TBILISI, September 1 – In western Georgia’s Tskaltubo municipality, several families will have part of their land seized to make way for a new high-voltage power line.
According to an order from the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, the project involves the construction of a 97-kilometer, 500-kilovolt overhead transmission line linking Tskaltubo to the village of Zikilia in Akhaltsikhe municipality. It also includes upgrades to existing substations.
There is a one month deadline for appealing the ministry’s order. But authorities argue that the new line is critical for securing the viability of the country’s power grid and have declared the project a ‘public necessity,’ giving Georgia’s State Electrosystem the right to expropriate property within the planned route.
Seven residents of the village of Maghlaki, members of the Choladze and Ugulava families, will lose a portion of their jointly owned land. In total, 414 square meters of a 4,791-square-meter plot will be taken, with compensation to be provided, according to Business Press News.
