On June 27, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency issued an environmental decision regarding the construction and operation of the planned Bakhvi 1 Hydropower Plant on the Bakhvistskali River, which operates on natural flow. The order was uploaded to the agency’s web portal on June 28, 2022. For further details, please see the link: Environmental Decision.
"Today, we received the environmental decision, granting us the rights and the opportunity to advance to a qualitatively new stage," stated Mikheil Niblaze, Director of C-C-E-H Hydro VI. "It is important to emphasize that we have truly put in substantial effort to reach this point. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who was directly or indirectly involved in the project. The working style, forms of communication, transparency, and the ongoing dialogue with all interested parties are the guiding principles we have chosen and will naturally continue. I am confident that we will successfully manage the construction phase and commission the hydroelectric power plant within the planned timeframe. The plant, built to European standards, will be one of the finest across Georgia. Our environmental and social program is entirely based on recommendations from international experts and also addresses the local needs identified through the processing of information gathered from public surveys."
The public discussion of the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment report was held on February 10, 2022, in Chokhatauri and Ozurgeti, and on February 11, 2022, in Mtispiri and Chkhakauri at the administrative buildings of the respective municipalities. During these public discussions, the project received unprecedented support from local residents, particularly from the Mtispiri community and Chkhakauri.