Like the Mayor of London, David Narmania, the Mayor of Tbilisi, has also committed to planting thousands of additional trees in Tbilisi by spring 2015. He has already planted more than 20,000 trees with his co-workers and has managed to attract many volunteers for the initiative. During his first five months in service as Mayor of Tbilisi, he has visited three countries abroad and formed memoranda of understanding with several developed cities. In his exclusive interview with Georgia Today, he claims that Tbilisi is on the way to becoming a “Morgenstadt,” the so called city of the future.
Q: What were the major projects of Tbilisi City Hall in 2014?
A: I was elected as Mayor of Tbilisi a few months ago; therefore, we haven’t yet had the opportunity to fulfill any major projects. However, we managed to keep our election promises and started to plant trees and rehabilitate roads in every district, we have celebrated major local festival “Tbilisoba,” completed several health and social projects and this isn’t all, as we started active work for a greener, cleaner city.
Q: How would you summarize your working visits abroad?
A: I had three important visits as Mayor. The first was an October visit to Berlin, Germany, where I met the mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit. I plan to take on Berlin’s experience in municipal management and the German side has agreed to assist Tbilisi in all major areas. During the meeting we also discussed cooperation in the sphere of culture. For me, it was particularly interesting to review the German project – the concept of the city of the future and its main aspects may be of interest for the future development of Tbilisi.
We also formed a cooperation agreement with one of the largest cities of the Republic of China, Guangzhou. According to the agreement, both parties shall encourage economic relations between the two cities in cooperation with relevant institutions and will encourage entrepreneurs to establish links with other organizations and institutions. We significantly intensified relations between Georgia and China’s cities, which is an important stimulus for bilateral contacts. We’ll also cooperate closely in the development of investment and tourism. The mayor of Guangzhou stated at the meeting that he’ll take care of direct flights between Tbilisi and Guangzhou which will strengthen cooperation between the two cities.
Recently, I also visited the capital city of Ireland, Dublin, and met with Lord Mayor Christy Brooks. We signed a memorandum of understanding according to which both sides will share knowledge and experience in the fields of economy, culture, education, tourism, public transportation, environmental protection, solid waste management and local governance. Tbilisi and Dublin will cooperate in the issues of tree planting and the management of traffic jams. I’ve invited two specialists from Ireland to study our transport system within the management of this process and offer recommendations on how to develop the use of modern technology to serve traffic management. One of the main priorities is to improve environmental conditions in the capital; therefore, it’s vitally important for us to share Ireland’s experience.
Q: The rehabilitation of roads continues in Tbilisi. Is the city ready for this winter?
A: It’s very important for us to be prepared for a cold winter which is why we started rehabilitation works in the autumn, managing to rehabilitate more than 40 roads in all districts of Tbilisi. Gogebashvili Street of the Mtatsminda district has been completely rebuilt; the total area of the project is 5,600 square meters. We also finished water and sewage projects there. In Nadzaladevi district we are gradually improving the roads to prevent traffic jams; the asphalt layer was laid on a 2,500 square meter area. The residents of Vake district asked for rehabilitation works on roads and buildings which were damaged in the 2002 earthquake. Road works are underway; we have improved underground communications and also carried out large scale construction waste removal from the territory. Next year, we will also build a park and a playground there.
In the first quarter of 2015, we plan to rebuild roads in Dighomi and Chughureti districts, as a number of the roads were poorly made by our predecessors and need to be rebuilt. Even the internal roads are in very poor condition. The district administration has already prepared documentation, and work will start in early spring. For nine years the local people were sending numerous statements to the district administration, but their needs were not met [until now].
Q: You have created a plan for traffic management. Could you please clarify what it is?
A: I formed a working group to manage traffic jams in Tbilisi. The working group will include representatives of the City Hall, City Council, Ministry of Economic and Sustainable Development, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as experts and representatives of the Technical University. We’ll carry out research to find the root cause(s) of the transport streams and will make a study of traffic movement. We plan to expand the surroundings of “Laguna Vere” as well as intensify street construction projects. It is very important that the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure finishes the bypass road so that large vehicles are able to go around the capital rather than through it.
We also plan to install new traffic lights that will help to unburden the roads. It’s also important to work on any traffic safety issues that experts present. This project will raise public awareness regarding safety on the roads and we’ll conduct an information campaign to achieve this goal. We’re going to restore bilateral traffic on Pushkin Street, and for that we received 11 very interesting ideas through a competition, from which we selected one.
Q: How would you assess recent political and economic developments in Georgia? (Such as the firing of public officials or the drop of the exchange rate of the Lari)
A: I think the current political changes are due to the better management of state institutions and, regarding the Lari, I didn’t get a chance to observe the macroeconomic issues, but we shouldn’t panic about it, as panic itself has a bad influence on the exchange rate. Foreign businessmen should continue to invest as we have adequate legal and political conditions for businesses in Georgia.
Q: What events are planned by Tbilisi City Hall for New Year’s Eve?
A: Christmas trees have been decorated at Rike Park near the Peace Bridge. Tbilisi is covered in Christmas lights and, although they are old, I promise to buy new ones for next year- until now we just haven’t had the time to announce a tender. We also completed decoration of the main highways, streets, squares and the Parliament Building on Rustaveli Avenue. There is a 25 meter high Christmas tree in front of Parliament and the traditional Christmas tree composition, designed by Muraz Murvanidze, has been put up around the St. George statue on Freedom Square. Christmas lights are lit on Vaja Pshavela Avenue, Alexander Kazbegi Avenue, Gurameshvili Avenue and more. Christmas illuminations have been installed in the Botanical Garden, too and many activities will take place there for the New Year. The Meskhetian tower has been rehabilitated and there is improved access to the tower and repaired rail lines.
On December 26, Santa Claus will give presents to children in the Meskhetian tower. On December 28, a special event will take place for children with disabilities, and on 31st of December there will be a gala concert on Rustaveli Avenue for young people and adults.
Q: What are Tbilisi City Hall’s plans for 2015?
A: Aside from health and social protection programs, we plan to work on rehabilitation of kindergartens, continue planting trees in Tbilisi and improve the overall infrastructure. In 2015, Tbilisi is hosting a number of international events, one of which is the UEFA Super Cup. City Hall is doing everything to organize these events to high standards. We’re ready to host the championship and have already allocated adequate finance for it (10 million from the 2014 budget); therefore, we will execute all our responsibilities faithfully.
Finally, Tbilisi will go forward towards the vision of Morgenstadt, which means innovative, flexible, habitable and sustainable city systems. Such future cities will produce net-zero emissions and waste, enable a maximum quality of life for all its inhabitants, optimize resiliency, and enable prosperity and progress through sustainable innovations.
Nino Sharashidze
