Batumi City Hall cites the transport collapse as the reason for pausing large-scale infrastructure projects planned for 2025, presenting the issue as though the municipality itself bears no responsibility for the challenge facing the city.
According to City Hall’s logic, it appears that the transport collapse in Batumi “emerged out of nowhere” and is now preventing the implementation of major infrastructure projects.
Transport congestion has long been one of the issues raised by citizens who, over the years, protested against construction projects approved by the municipality at various times.
Residents warned that if City Hall continued permitting the construction of multi-apartment buildings without parking facilities, one of the most acute problems on the city’s agenda would inevitably be transport collapse.
That is exactly what happened. This year, construction of a new road connecting Grigol Lortkipanidze Street with Seafront Street was suspended in Batumi. According to the Batumi budget execution report for nine months, covering the period up to October 1, 2025, the project’s execution rate on the expenditure side was 0 percent.
As a result, GEL 1,621,900 remained unspent over three quarters.
According to City Hall’s explanation, the project area is located in one of the city’s densely populated neighborhoods, where vehicular traffic was extremely congested during the tourist season. Due to the specific nature of the road construction works, street closures were necessary. Therefore, the municipality decided to pause the project.
“Since the implementation of infrastructure works would restrict transport movement, in order to prevent vehicular collapse, the department considered it appropriate to shift the works to the fourth quarter. Taking all of the above circumstances into account, it was not possible to utilize the funds envisaged by the quarterly plan,” explains the City Infrastructure Department of Batumi City Hall.
The project was launched by Batumi City Hall in 2024 and was supposed to continue in 2025. However, since the works were postponed to the fourth quarter, it is highly likely that the project will not be completed in 2025.
The municipality also failed to procure and install video surveillance cameras within the predetermined timeframe. Once again, the reason cited was the tourist season and the potential congestion of traffic on city streets:
“Since the tourist season is in an active phase and the implementation of these works would have caused traffic congestion and discomfort for both residents and visitors, a decision was made to begin these works in the fourth quarter,” City Hall explains.
The improvement works on Machakhela Street also failed to start within the planned timeframe. Consequently, out of GEL 1,084,100 allocated for the project, not a single tetri was spent during the first three quarters.
City Hall explains:
“Since these works were planned for the third quarter and, due to their specific nature, required the closure of the roadway, residents living in the area did not allow the contractor to block the road, citing the lack of alternative access routes to their homes. As a result, following negotiations with residents, the continuation of works was scheduled for the fourth quarter.”
The municipality also failed to begin projects for the construction of new streets within the agreed deadlines.
For example:
According to the Batumi budget execution report for ten months, the project to build a new road connecting King Parnavaz Street and Pirosmani Street did not start according to the predefined schedule. GEL 1,317,508 had been allocated for this project in the budget. According to City Hall, works stipulated under the contract have not commenced due to negotiations with private property owners:
“…In order to implement this project, negotiations with private property owners became necessary, as part of the project area passes through privately owned land. Since negotiations represent a complex process, the commencement of works will not be possible until their completion.”
Clearly, the municipality should have known from the outset that property acquisition from private owners would be required. However, the budget was not planned accordingly, and funds for initiating the project were inaccurately allocated from the beginning.
For the same reason, the municipality was unable to begin construction of a new road connecting Shalva Inasaridze Street and Lech and Maria Kaczyński Street. GEL 2,376,816 had been allocated for this project.
Only 29 percent of the project to construct a drainage channel from No. 35 Lech and Maria Kaczyński Street, parallel to Adlia Street, up to No. 76 Adlia Street has been completed.
City Hall explains that due to violations of contractual deadlines for the delivery of works and improper execution, penalties were imposed on the contractor. As a result, the funds planned under the quarterly budget were not utilized.
The municipality also failed to begin construction of a social housing project.
In its report, City Hall explains that a significant amount of time was spent searching for land with suitable parameters. In addition, the municipality highlights an increase in the number of applications:
“A search was initiated for municipally owned land with appropriate parameters, which required a certain period of time. At the same time, the number of applications from beneficiaries seeking housing in the social housing project increased, necessitating a thorough review and assessment of applications to ensure compliance with the clearly defined eligibility criteria established by the municipal administration.
All of the above circumstances led to a change in the overall concept, which was reflected in the search for alternative municipally owned land with suitable parameters, market research, and the development of tender conditions. Due to reasons beyond our control and in compliance with relevant procedures, these actions required a significant portion of the year, which resulted in the failure to utilize the funds envisaged by the plan.”
According to the report, it also remains unclear whether the municipality has ultimately identified a site for the construction of the social housing project.