TBILISI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th March, 2021) Thousands of people took to the streets in the western Georgian city of Kutaisi to demand that Minister of Economy Natela Turnava step down amid public uproar over the Turkish-led construction of a new power plant, local media reported on Sunday.
People have been protesting the construction of the Namakhvani hydroelectric power plant in Georgia's Rioni River valley by Turkish company Enka for some four months now.
"Our main demand is to cancel the governmental decree that entails the transfer of the Rioni valley to a foreign investor. The second demand is to terminate the contract with Enka. Thirdly, all documents issued since 2015 should be annulled, and finally, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Natela Turnava must resign," protest leader Varlam Goletiani said at the rally, as broadcast by Georgia's Rustavi 2 channel.
Some of the protesters are determined to continue the demonstration through the night in tents in Kutaisi's central square, according to Goletiani.
Protests against the Namakhvani project normally attract climate activists, civil society leaders and ordinary citizens who fear that their livelihood and the region's environment will be affected by the construction.
The plant is going to occupy 576 hectares (1,420 acres) of land in a forested valley where there are also dozens of habitable houses. Last week, the Georgian government suspended the construction of the plant's dam and water reservoir, pending further studies on climate impact, but other works continued as normal.
