TBILISI, July 27 – Residents of a village north of Tbilisi are demanding the closure of a large truck park, citing concerns about pollution, noise and environmental risks to their community.
The facility near Navazi, in Mtskheta municipality, opened in October 2023 and was initially designed for 400 trucks. Operator LG Trans later expanded it, saying it can now hold up to 1,150 vehicles during peak periods. The company leases the land from the Georgian state under a 25-year agreement and says it has invested GEL 14 million in the site.
The truck park mainly serves freight traffic travelling between Georgia and Russia through the Kazbegi-Larsi border route. It is also used by vehicles carrying goods to countries including Kazakhstan, Armenia, Turkey and Kyrgyzstan, according to LG Trans. The company said approximately 150,000 trucks passed through the facility in 2024.
Although the Navazi hub primarily supports north-south traffic, the dispute highlights the local pressures accompanying Georgia’s broader expansion as a transit country. The government is also promoting the east-west Middle Corridor linking Central Asia with Europe through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. Georgia’s Economy Ministry reported a 33 percent increase in container traffic along the corridor, while the World Bank approved a USD 372 million transport project in June aimed at strengthening Georgia’s role on the route.
Some Navazi residents say the benefits of growing freight traffic come at an unacceptable local cost.
Marine Jijiashvili told Interpressnews that residents are disturbed around the clock by truck exhaust and the noise from refrigeration units. She said the facility covers approximately 13,000 to 14,000 square metres near the Aragvi River and lies within protected zones surrounding water-treatment reservoirs operated by Georgian Water and Power.
Residents also allege that construction altered the riverbed. Jijiashvili said they obtained an expert opinion from the Levan Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau supporting that claim.
According to Jijiashvili, an average of around 1,500 trucks enter or use the site each day. DFWatch could not independently verify that figure. LG Trans has previously said the park’s maximum capacity is around 1,150 vehicles at peak times.
Residents filed a lawsuit in December 2022 seeking the cancellation of the municipal permit, but Jijiashvili said proceedings have repeatedly been postponed and the case has still not reached a substantive hearing.
She said appeals to the government, parliament, ministries and investigative agencies had either gone unanswered or been referred back to the courts.
Some residents are now asking the authorities to provide them with suitable alternative housing if the truck park cannot be closed.
Interpressnews’s report did not contain comments from LG Trans or Mtskheta municipality.
