New parliament in Kutaisi.

TBILISI, DFWatch – The construction work on Georgia’s new parliament building in Kutaisi is well underway, but who is actually building it, and how much will it cost?

A recent push by a local civil rights group revealed that minister Ramaz Nikolaishvili does not give that information out to just anyone.

Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) says in a statement that they contacted the Ministry for Regional Development and Infrastructure as well as Kutaisi City Hall, asking for details about the project’s expenses.

Kutaisi City Hall answered „we inform you that building the new parliament in Kutaisi is financed from the Georgian central budget“, in a letter signed by City Hall administrative service Tengiz Topuridze.

But in Georgia’s 2012 budget, there is no mention of the new parliament building. That’s why IDFI made this request in the first place, the group explains.

The Ministry for Regional Development simply answered that it doesn’t have detailed information about the parliament building in Kutaisi.

It was president Mikheil Saakashvili’s decision to move Georgia’s parliament to the town of Kutaisi in the west of Georgia. The project is implemented by the minister for regional development, who has described it is a ‘cool project’ and said the building will be more impressive than its counterparts in Brussels and Strasbourg,

Lawmakers will assemble in the futuristic complex after the final results of this year’s parliamentary elections have been announced. According to the constitution, the elections will be held in October.

IDFI reports on its latest effort on idfi.ge, a website made within the framework of a project called The Database of Public Information.