The new highway will change the Khada Valley which is currently remote and largely abandoned during winter. Recognizing these challenges, the government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have agreed to develop a comprehensive development framework for the valley including a Historic-Cultural Reference Plan (on-going; see Interview Section); a Development Plan as defined by the Georgian Legislation; and a Priority Investment Plan.

The Development Plan aims at harnessing the potential of the Khada Valley as a result of the construction of the new highway, while protecting the unique existing environment and cultural heritage, both physical and intangible. The Development plan will ban uncontrolled construction and yield benefits to local communities. The Development Plan will identify the construction and non-construction areas of settlements, specify natural and cultural landscape areas, functional zones and sub-zones, and determine all the necessary conditions for issuing construction permits in accordance with the legislation.

In addition, specific projects will be identified, financing of which by the state or the private sector, will contribute to the sustainable development of the local economy and the region in general. This document will be developed with the active participation of the local population, will take into account their visions, ideas, wishes and substantiated requirements.

The Khada Valley Development Plan will be prepared from March 2022 onwards. In October 2021, a tender was announced to identify the company that will prepare the planning documentation and regulations. The terms of the tender were developed by the ADB in consultation with the Roads Department and the Department of Spatial Planning of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia to ensure the selection of a highly qualified company.

A pre-bid meeting was held and local companies with international experience in urban and regional planning and development plans had the opportunity to participate in the competition. The final result will be announced in the first quarter of 2022. The winner will prepare a development plan for Khada Valley following international best practice, local legislation and Kvesheti-Kobi new road project.

As part of the Kvesheti-Kobi new road project, an educational environmental project has been launched at the Kvesheti school. The project is implemented together with the environmental organization “Ecokhedva” and serves to raise awareness among pupils and teachers. Its main purpose is to properly inform the population of Khada Valley about infrastructural and environmental issues.

The first meeting with senior pupils has already been held in December. During the lecture, experts from “Ecokhedva” talked about general environmental issues, including the directions to be considered during the implementation of infrastructure projects. In total, five such lectures will be delivered to the senior pupils of Kvesheti school within the framework of the project. In addition, in the future, students will visit the construction site to learn about the latest technologies and approaches. At the end of the lecture course, pupils will have the opportunity to participate in the competition, which will be announced within the project.

Besides senior pupils, the representatives of “Ecokhedva” will also meet with the school administration and teachers. Within the framework of the project, an EcoClub will be established in Kvesheti school, the members of which will take part in various activities – trainings, workshops, competitions, etc.

A meeting of “Ecokhedva” representatives with EcoClub beneficiaries is planned for the development of an EcoClub one-year action plan. The plan includes landscaping of the Kvesheti school area, cleaning the school yard and surrounding areas, organizing intellectual games on environmental topics, etc.

At the end of the project, an external event will be held at Kvesheti Public School – a press conference, an exhibition of drawings, a presentation of the resources developed under the project and an evaluation of the project.

Several independent experts have been mobilized to regularly monitor issues related to environment, health and safety, cultural heritage, and land acquisition and resettlement during project implementation. This complies with ADB’s and EBRD’s policies and procedures.

Seven international experts and national experts-financed by ADB and EBRD- fielded monitoring missions to the project site in October-November 2021. This is complemented by daily site visits from the construction supervision consultant and weekly site visits by Roads Department and ADB consultants.

Several actions have been identified and implemented to mitigate impacts during construction and improve livelihood conditions throughout project implementation and beyond. For example, the road to Tskere has been kept open in winter  for the first time in decades and water and power have also been installed there.

In addition, ADB’s Compliance Review Panel and EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism also fielded fact-finding missions to visit the project site and engage with various stakeholders to ensure the project remains in compliance with ADB’s and EBRD’s policies and procedures.

GeoGraphic provides geospatial solutions including mapping and urban planning in Georgia.

– How did you get involved in the Kvesheti-Kobi new road project and what is the specific task of your company?

– The Asian Development Bank has selected our company under its technical assistance project to prepare a Historical-Cultural Reference Plan for Khada Valley. The format and content of this plan are provided for by the legislation of Georgia.

– What does the Reference Plan mean?

– There is a resolution in the law of Georgia on the protection zones of cultural heritage sites. This resolution defines what these zones should consist of. We are working on the preliminary documentation for the protection zone recommendations. At this point, we have more than 60% of the work done. However, the range is quite voluminous and consists of a number of stages.

– What stages have been completed and what is left to prepare in terms of drafting of the final plan?

– We developed maps of existing situational plans, conducted aerial surveys and other background surveys. A geodatabase was created. Subsequently, complex field work was carried out, including an inventory of cultural heritage sites. It should be noted that the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation has done some work previously and we have enriched their results, so to say. Inventory involves conducting art, archeological, sociological, architectural, engineering and urban planning studies. After conducting these surveys, we compiled a field card for all buildings, then an inventory card. All this has been combined in the database and at this stage the analytical part is prepared. We are talking about more than 1,000 objects located in 13 villages.

– What is the stage to get the final document and why is this document needed?

– Finally, we will get a series of thematic maps, develop an integrated plan, which will include recommendations on where and what type of cultural heritage development opportunities exist, where the high-value facilities, areas are, and what Kvesheti-Kobi Road project team should consider during the preparation of Khada Valley Development Plan. The final document will be accompanied by a series of analytical maps and explanatory texts, where all this will be substantiated, the methodology will be explained, statistics and recommendations will be given for each building, precinct, or settlement. This is the historical-cultural support plan, which will be completed in March 2022 as a result of six months’ work.

An emergency tunnel is built on the Tskere-Kobi section (Lot 1). Up to 2,370 meters have been excavated since the beginning of the works. Simultaneously, the construction of the main tunnel is underway with a specially designed tunnel boring machine (TBM). About 370 meters of the main 9-km long and 15-meter wide tunnel have already been drilled, and in parallel with the drilling, finishing works are underway. The materials required for the finishing are made at a factory located nearby. As of December 2021, a total of 10,000 reinforced concrete segments have been constructed for the tunnel lining. Preparatory works for the construction of the emergency tunnel portal have started from the Tskere side. This emergency tunnel is built in parallel to the main tunnel in accordance with EU directives on tunnel safety.

On the Kvesheti-Tskere section (Lot 2), works on arranging the piles of the second bridge near the Arakhveti village are actively carried out. In parallel, the construction of the first tunnel from the Arakhveti village to Didveli Platouis is underway and up to 100 meters have already been excavated as of December 2021.

Excavation works are underway on the third bridge – the Arch bridge on the Khada valley. In addition, preparatory works for the construction of the portal have started on the second and third tunnels. The process of arranging residential and office camps is also in an active phase. In total three camps are arranged: village Arakhveti; Didveli Platou; near the village Gomurni.

More Georgian residents have been employed directly by the project this quarter, up to a total of 364. About 55% of all project employees are local hires (200 people) employed directly from the project area.

The Project continues to create a variety of direct employment opportunities for the local population. Priority is given to hiring people from project affected communities.

Information on vacancies is communicated to the locals through group meetings and by posting announcements in communities near the project. Vacancies are also posted on the Facebook page and the project website. Project employees are provided with skills training including occupational health and safety, waste management, firefighting and first aid training among others. These aim to raise the skill levels of local employees to international standards and allow for long-term skill enhancement.

The project also creates indirect job and procurement opportunities by employing local suppliers, businesses, and service providers which benefits local and regional employment.

The Roads Department and ADB are co-producing a summary of the project specific environmental management plans, which includes several maps and visuals.

The project environmental impact assessment identified about 20 topic and site-specific environmental management plans to be developed for each section/lot during implementation. Most of these technical plans have been developed and are being implemented.

The objectives and content of these plans have been summarized in a standalone and illustrated document that will be made available both online (in Georgian and English) and onsite at the project information center.  Project experts stand ready to organize ad-hoc meetings on any of those topics upon request.

The summary of specific management plans will provide simplified technical information and were published in January 2022.