Govt' Plans to Sell Former Parliament Building in Kutaisi
The Government of Georgia plans to sell the former parliament building in Kutaisi. Reportedly, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development is working on the issue of alienation of the building, the Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Gakharia, announced Thursday.
“We are going to sell the Kutaisi Parliament building. The Ministry of Economy has already started on the process. Kutaisi will soon become a huge educational center, much more important to the city than Parliament. What could and what should the future of Kutaisi be? Education, medicine, logistics etc, not just parliament,” he said.
The Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development intends to privatize the non-functioning building. However, at this stage, its price is not known.
The former Parliament building was built in 2010-2012 in Kutaisi, traditionally the second most important city of Georgia, 231 kilometers west of Tbilisi. More than GEL 340 million was spent on its construction at the initiative of then-President Mikheil Saakashvili.
The building was inaugurated on 26 May 2012 and, in accordance with the respective constitutional clause, became the main seat of the newly elected Parliament in October 2012 until the legislature moved back to Tbilisi in January 2019.
The government, during the building's construction, promoted it as a symbol of Georgia's bright, democratic future.
After Saakashvili's term in office expired, the new government of the Georgian Dream coalition decided to move all parliamentary activities back to Tbilisi.
By Ana Dumbadze