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The Tbilisi City Hall about Press-Booths

November 25, 2011

The Tbilisi City Hall released a statement about press-booths in the capital.

“In order to promote small and middle business, the Tbilisi City Hall launched a new project which aims to place new, modern booths instead old and ugly booths. Up to now, the authority had issued permission only for 250 booths in the city but now 1 000 spots were selected for the purpose. The Tbilisi City Hall aims to offer equal conditions to applicants. So, we announced online auction. Any physical or legal entity, which already has booths based on previous permission, will not be requested to remove their booths before the agreement expires. Any exception or privileges to allow certain people to place booths without online auction will breach the right of the people who already participated in the auction and won it. For the same reason, the City Hall cannot leave unlicensed booths in the city because the entrepreneurs, who won the auction and pay lease tax, will be damaged. There are no restrictions for participation in the auction. Applicants can sell any product in the new booth. Thus, they will acquire competitiveness. When people allege that this business cannot resist competition, it is unclear because cigarettes, drinks and other products were always sold in press-booths. Those entities can sign agreements with winning companies. We have held five auctions so far with 250 lots and winners were nominated in 93 of them. There was no competition on other 157 lots. So, the complaints of the people, who claim they cannot resist the competition, are groundless. Previous auctions showed that press distribution companies participated in the auction. Some of them won others could not – though it is reasonable because it is healthy and transparent competition. It is not correct to make the issue politicized because we aim to create healthy competition, to develop business and create working places. About 3-4 people will be employed in each booth that makes up total 1000 working places in the capital. Any interested person can get registered on the website eauction.ge, choose suitable spot for a booth, pay 500 GEL in advance and take part in the online auction. The starting price of the one-year lease is 1000 GEL,” the statement of the Tbilisi City Hall reads.

News Agency “Pirveli”

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