The Story Behind The Budapest Hotel

The construction of the Budapest Hotel in Vake Park has represented a matter of strong debates for several years.

Disputes regarding the given case commenced in 2013, when the former mayor of Tbilisi Gigi Ugulava, granted the investors the permission of building the hotel on the territory of Vake Park.  

The citizens of Tbilisi and the representatives of Guerilla Gardening and Civil Movement were strongly opposing to this initiative, arguing that the construction of the hotel would represent a serious threat to the city’s infrastructure, damage the greenery of one of the most important and historical recreational zones of Tbilisi and contribute to the lack of oxygen. “The eco-system of the park will be completely devastated; hundreds of trees will be chopped down to make space for parking lots,” said Nata Peradze, the representative of Guerilla Gardening, in the interview with Kviris Palitra newspaper in 2015. Complains were also addressed to the Ex-Mayor David Narmania, as while he was occupying the given position, no progress was made for the problem resolution.

It was only today, on January 25, 2019, that the consensus among the investors and the government of Tbilisi was achieved.

The current mayor of Tbilisi Kakha Kaladze has announced that Budapest Hotel will not be built in Vake Park and different area will be allocated for its construction.

The owner of the Budapest Hotel Goga Zakaidze has also made a statement regarding the given issue and said he is happy for the peaceful resolution of the problem. He noted that the company is offered several areas in Tbilisi to carry out the project, however he did not specify any of them.

By Ketevan Kvaratskheliya

Image source: Tripfinger

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Budapest Hotel Not to Be Constructed in Vake Park