Temporary Resettlement of 20 Households Completed in Abastumani

Municipal Development Fund of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia is implementing rehabilitation-restoration works for residential houses, astrophysical observatory and adjacent cableway of  XIX-XX centuries   located in Abastumani; the project is backed by the World Bank.  The design provides for rehabilitation of 18 houses located in the historical part of Abastumani, these houses shall undergo works of different scale   and complexity. At the initial stage, the independent consulting company selected through bidding conducted by the Municipal Development Fund of Georgia, has prepared  Resettlement Action Plan in accordance with WB resettlement guidelines, which was later on approved by the donor organization. Building category assigned for determining residents of which buildings are to be subjected to temporary resettlement in course of construction works was identified according to construction activities scheduled for each building. The named plan provides for respective compensation amounts to be extended to beneficiaries subjected to temporary resettlement. It is remarkable that except for compensation payments allocated for temporary resettlement, the beneficiaries shall also receive compensation for furniture transportation expenses.   Moreover, the WB approved plan envisages additional compensations for vulnerable groups.  Construction works are phased. Currently, 2-nd phase works are in progress and as of today, 20 households are temporarily resettled from residential spaces exiting in the project area, which were fully reimbursed against their respective compensation amounts in accordance with the RAP.   

From early design stage, there has been close communication with affected population, in order to ensure timely consideration and solution of their issues. Numerous public and individual meetings have been conducted for keeping them abreast of each stage of project implementation.