On April 21, 2011 was held the meeting of the Georgian Government. The agenda included 58 items.
Before the meeting started, the Prime Minister of Georgia, Nika Gilauri, talked about construction of Khudoni Hydro Power Plant. We present the Prime Minister's speech:
"Good day. Before we start the government meeting, I would like to give the public and members of the government a piece of news about one of the most important issues we are going to discuss at today's government meeting. This is the issue of construction of Khudoni Hydro Power Plant.
We concluded an agreement with an Indian company Continental Energy a year and a half ago1; This company was to conduct technical-economic research with respect to construction of Khudoni Hydro Power Plant: whether it is possible to construct Khudoni Hydro Power Plant, or how profitable construction of Khudoni Hydro Power Plant can be in the current economic conditions.
The research was completed several weeks ago. Since that, we carry out very specific negotiations with respect to the agreement. Today, the Minister of Energy is submitting the issue to the government meeting in order that we conclude an agreement on construction of Khudoni Hydro Power Plant with Continental Energy. The research has confirmed that construction of Khudoni Hydro Power Plant is profitable in spite of the fact that quite solid investments will be made and its construction will be quite difficult. It is technically possible to carry out its construction and it is economically acceptable considering the current market.
We will execute an agreement on construction of Khudoni Hydro Power Plant in the nearest days, which means that preconstruction works will be carried out in summer of this year, while construction of the power plant itself will start next year.
This is a 650 megawatt project. As you already know, there were several Khudoni Hydro Power Plant construction projects - 600 megawatt, 650 megawatt and 700 megawatt. This is 650 megawatt version which was ultimately selected by technical design. In sum, the investment amounts up to $1 billion that makes it one of the biggest investment projects in Georgia.
I would like to thank everyone who was working on the project for this period. It was not simple at all to conduct the research or carry out negotiations. All details have been completed and construction of Khudoni Hydro Power Plant will be one of the main issues on the agenda of today's government meeting."
Prime Minister's Press Service