TBILISI, July 27 – Residents of a village north of Tbilisi are demanding the closure of a large truck park, saying exhaust fumes, noise and pollution are making the area increasingly difficult to live in.
The facility is located near Navazi village in Mtskheta municipality, close to the Aragvi River. It opened on October 11, 2023 and was originally designed to hold 400 trucks, according to its operator, LG Trans.
The company later expanded the park and says it can now accommodate as many as 1,150 vehicles during peak periods. LG Trans leases the land from the Georgian state for 25 years and says it has invested GEL 14 million in the project. Around 150,000 trucks used the facility in 2024, according to the company.
The park mainly serves trucks travelling between Georgia and Russia, as well as international transit traffic, LG Trans has said. Georgia’s Revenue Service requires freight vehicles heading to major border crossings, such as the one near Kazbegi, to use designated parking areas connected to an electronic queue system.
The dispute comes as Georgia seeks a larger role in freight transport between Europe and Asia. In June, the World Bank approved a USD 372 million project aimed at improving the Georgian section of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, also known as the Middle Corridor.
However, some residents say the expansion of Georgia’s freight infrastructure is creating serious problems for people living nearby.
Marine Jijiashvili, a Navazi resident, told Interpressnews on Monday that trucks enter and leave the site around the clock. Residents complain about diesel fumes, noise from refrigerated trailers and pollution of the Aragvi River.
Jijiashvili said the parking area covers around 13,000 to 14,000 square metres and lies within protected zones surrounding water-treatment reservoirs operated by Georgian Water and Power.
Residents also claim that construction of the park altered the riverbed. Jijiashvili said they obtained an assessment from the Levan Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau concerning the alleged changes.
She claimed that around 1,500 trucks stop at or pass through the site each day. DFWatch could not independently verify that number. The operator has previously said the park can hold up to 1,150 vehicles at peak times.
Residents filed a lawsuit in December 2022 seeking the cancellation of the permit issued by Mtskheta City Hall. Jijiashvili said hearings have repeatedly been postponed and that substantive consideration of the case has still not begun.
She said complaints sent to the government, parliament, ministries and investigative bodies had either gone unanswered or been referred back to the court.
Some residents are now asking the authorities to provide them with alternative housing if the truck park cannot be closed.
The Interpressnews report did not include comments from LG Trans or Mtskheta City Hall.
