Previously Narrowed Streets Are Now Widened

Maka Malakmadze, Adjara

Three streets are widened in the Old Batumi. Four years ago, those streets were narrowed and the repair works lasted four months. Why did they narrow streets in the past if it was necessary to widen them again? Are Batumi budget funds wasted? – Batumi residents ask. 

Representatives of Public Relation Service at the Batumi City Hall say chairman of the city council Irakli Chavleishvili decided to widen streets. Deputy head of the unit for public services and amenities at the City Hall Tengiz Petridze said drivers faced problems in narrow streets. “Three streets will be widened at 30 cm in Old Batumi. Drivers complained about it; many accidents occurred there and we decided to widen them.”

Batumi City Hall announced competition for the planned works and allocated 265 000 lari from the local budget. Two building companies participated in the competition – Ltd Bondi Bridge and Ltd Monolith 2005. After several rounds of bargain, Monolith 2005 won the competition. They will widen streets for 224 900 lari.

“We have finished works in one of the streets. The rest two streets will be finished by April 12. Kerbs are narrowed and streets are widened at 30 centimeters,” head of Monolith 2005 Merab Dolidze said.

Head of the NGO Civil Activism and Engagement Davit Beridze said Batumi City Hall is wasting budget funds on the project. “They had to repair streets properly from the very beginning. If they had not narrowed streets in the past, today we will not have this problem. Batumi residents have plenty of other serious problems and the money must be spent on their resolution.”

Streets were narrowed in the Old Batumi in 2010. According to the information from the official website of the Batumi City Hall, 10 million lari was allocated for the repair of streets and pavements in Old Batumi.