According to the documents received in the form of public information by the Social Justice Center, the Ministry of Economy has extended the deadline for submitting the construction documentation for the Kvemo Namakhvani HPP for another year. We believe that this decision of the Ministry is another unjustified privilege granted to "Enka", which proves that the statements about the proper study of the project are false and groundless. At the same time, this process explains the real motive for announcing a 9-12 month "moratorium" on the construction of the dam. The delay in the construction of the dam is due not to a compromise between the government and the company, but to the fact that the company itself was late in submitting the complete project documentation and requested an extension from the state for the same period.

We would like to remind you that the deadline for “Enka” to submit the project full documentation and expert conclusions expired on April 13 of this year. The new documentation, received in the form of public information, states that the Ministry of Economy was loyal to the lack of mandatory documentation and on March 19, 2021, the deadline set by the construction permit was extended to the company until February 28, 2022.

It is noteworthy that "Enka" applied to the Ministry with a request to extend the term on February 17 this year. On March 12, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development announced that a “moratorium” on part of the reassessment-validation of research on the construction of the main facilities (dam and reservoir) of the HPP had been declared. This statement of the Minister is still presented to the public as a compromise step taken by the government in response to the protest. Enka was not allowed to build the dam due to a lack of proper documentation. Moreover, the Ministry was already aware that Enka could not prepare the mentioned documents and, consequently, the company could not gain the right to build the main facilities of the HPP for at least another year. Thus, the fact that the company failed to prepare the required documentation for the construction of the HPP within the timeframe set by the authorities was used by the authorities to mislead the public and the period during which Enka would not have the right to build the dam was presented as a compromise in response to the public opinion.

It should be noted that on February 17, when the Ministry of Economy applied to the LEPL "Technical and Construction Supervision Agency", the company cited the "situation around the project" as the reason for non-fulfillment of the construction permit conditions and requested a new deadline for submission of documents - February 28, 2022.

While Rioni gorge is almost completely closed by the police, barricades are erected, people, including residents of Rioni gorge, have restricted access to the gorge and the company's construction is being guarded by police, it is unclear what prevented the company to fulfil the obligation taken before the state and what became the basis for non-preparation of construction documentation and why Enka links the breach of its obligations to the situation around the project.

Despite the unsubstantiated and vague grounds of the motion, the Agency unconditionally agreed to the company request and by order of March 19 of the current year set the deadline for the submission of construction complete documentation as February 28, 2022.

It is also noteworthy, that the construction permit allowed Enka to submit construction documentation separately and to carry out on-site work one by one. More specifically, the company is allowed to construct certain facilities based on the submitted construction documents, while the whole construction project does not exist until now.

Representatives of the state and the company are actively talking about the Namakhvani hydroelectric power plant project being complete. Based on public information, it is established that the company has so far submitted documentation to the state for only three facilities: diversion tunnel, turbine pipeline, and reservoir equalizer (There is information about only one of them, the diversion tunnel, that the agency agreed to it, and the company received authorization to start construction on this facility). For the rest of the facilities of HPP, including the dam, the company still does not have complete construction documentation, supported by expert reports.

The segregation of the construction process in such a way makes it extremely difficult to assess its overall impact and the actual work in progress, both for the permitting authority or any interested person.

It is unknown to the population what type of work Enka is currently carrying out in the gorge and whether the company's assertion that only preparatory work is being carried out in the gorge to accommodate temporary buildings is true. Given that state has not supervised construction on the site since October 2020, and the gorge is closed to journalists or activists, it is impossible to determine what activities are being carried out and whether Enka is authorized to do so. Social Justice Center was addressed to the Technical and Construction Supervision Agency with the request of inspection on May 17.

Such attitude of the state towards the company intensifies the feeling of protest in the society, which is related to the illegal, opaque, and non-public processes of construction of the Namakhvani hydroelectric power plant. In addition, even though the company has not yet submitted complete construction documentation, large-scale construction works are being carried out on the site, which is causing severe and irreversible damage to the environment. At the same time, the Technical and Construction Supervision Agency avoids performing its functions, which, despite several possible violations of the permit conditions by Enka, does not inspect the construction works and does not impose administrative liability to the company.

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