Machavariani: Tbilisi Residents Spend at Least Ten Days a Year in Traffic

Vado Machavariani, leader of the movement Strong Georgia - Power of the New Generation, spoke about transport policy and construction in Tbilisi on the Palitranews program "Resume". According to him, it is the wish of investors and Georgian Dream that not a single corner of the capital remain undeveloped and that there be concrete and buildings everywhere. As a result, by his explanation, Tbilisi residents spend at least ten days a year stuck in traffic.

Machavariani said that this time amounts to 240 to 300 hours and noted that the study was conducted by Strong Georgia. According to him, the situation on Tsereteli Avenue is especially difficult, and traffic has increased after the rehabilitation. Machavariani said that the plan to connect the Tsereteli metro station with the exhibition center dates back to the communist era and work had already begun in that period, but now no one wants to invest in it.

According to him, investments are made only in the construction of malls and residential buildings. Machavariani said he cannot understand who buys these apartments and assumed that they are likely aimed at Russians, Arabs and Iranians. Georgians, according to him, are no longer the target, because there is no longer the opportunity for this in the country. He added that a deputy's salary is 15 thousand lari, the veteran's allowance is 100 lari, and the pension is increasing by 45 lari.

According to Machavariani's assessment, representatives of Georgian Dream are so detached from society that they perceive people as statistics. According to him, he does not want business and investment that contribute to replacing Georgians, eliminating greenery and strengthening the transport collapse.

According to the politician, the transport problem can be solved by adding metro stations and building four new bridges across the Mtkvari: at Gmirtha Square, on Beliashvili, at "Vepkhi and Moyma" and towards Orthachala. Machavariani noted that everything requires money and that even building schools is not possible, while the construction of one school costs 20 million lari. According to him, it would be good if free meals were introduced somewhere as a pilot.

According to Machavariani, everything can be calculated and the goal can be achieved if Georgian Dream halves salaries and refuses to use the newest cars. According to him, the government behaves the opposite way: the price of gasoline is rising and they refuse to reduce it, the country is emptying, and the number of traffic jams and buildings is increasing.