Kobakhidze blamed the "Party of Global War" for the failure of the Namakhvani HPP project.

The Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, accused the "Party of Global War" and foreign-funded non-governmental organizations of directly sabotaging the Namakhvani HPP project on the Rioni River. The court ordered Georgia to pay 350 million dollars to the Turkish company "ENKA Renewables" due to the project's termination.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", protests against the construction of the Namakhvani HPP on the Rioni River, which began in late 2020, forced the Turkish company "Enka" to abandon its construction plans in September 2021. Residents of the village of Namakhvani feared they would have to relocate, as the opening of the HPP would lead to the flooding of 500 hectares of land, including forests, arable land, and several villages.

Speaking to journalists, Kobakhidze stated that opponents of the hydropower station's construction acted under the direction of external forces, and the state at that time was too weak to withstand the pressure, as reported today by Newsgeorgia.

"What happened several years ago will not happen again in the future. Many NGOs funded from specific sources were involved in this protest... Behind them were the very sources we call the "Deep State" and the "Party of Global War," Kobakhidze stated.

In response to a question about whether there could be an interest from Russia, which is the main importer of electricity to Georgia, in the campaign to sabotage the construction, the Prime Minister replied that he could not say for sure but knows where specific NGOs were funded from.

"Importing companies might have had a specific, quite logical interest in financing such a sabotage campaign. This is a separate issue, and you can figure it out yourself," the Prime Minister said.

According to him, today the "foreign agency" is significantly weakened, and the state has become much stronger, which will allow the authorities to implement large-scale plans in energy, including the construction of three large HPPs, as well as a number of medium and small hydropower, wind, and solar stations.

Kobakhidze's statements came against the backdrop of a decision by an American court, which on September 11 sided with the Turkish company "ENKA Renewables". The federal court of the District of Columbia recognized the international arbitration decision, under which Georgia must pay the company about 350 million dollars plus interest due to the termination of the Namakhvani HPP construction project.

"ENKA" must submit to the American court by September 18 a draft final order indicating the amount of debt along with the interest accrued by that date. Thus, the final amount that the court will record is still being clarified.

The "United National Movement" demanded the start of an investigation against Bidzina Ivanishvili, Vano Chkhartishvili, Natia Turnava, Mamuka Bakhtadze, and Irakli Garibashvili. As stated by party member Lasha Parulava at a briefing, it was Vano Chkhartishvili, with the help of Irakli Garibashvili, who sabotaged this project, reports the television company Pirveli today.

"The Namakhvani hydropower station construction project was from the very beginning a corrupt deal signed by Mamuka Bakhtadze on April 25, 2019. The then Minister of Economy Natia Turnava expedited and lobbied for this signing. Later, Vano Chkhartishvili, with the help of Irakli Garibashvili, sabotaged this project. This is sabotage of Georgia's energy security, and if an investigation should be started against anyone for corruption and plundering the Georgian people, it should be against Bidzina Ivanishvili," said Lasha Parulava.

According to the politician, these people should pay the 450 million dollars that are now imposed on the Georgian state, and in fact, on the Georgian people.

In the opposition party "Lelo - Strong Georgia", suspicions were expressed that behind the lost "Georgian Dream" disputes in international arbitration lies a pre-developed scheme, which is the largest source of corruption in the ruling party.

"The 14-year harmful rule of the "Georgian Dream" has cost the Georgian people more than one and a half billion lari in international arbitration - this is the amount we have to pay out of our own pockets as compensation for lost arbitration disputes. It doesn't matter who Kobakhidze points the finger at, nothing will change the fact that the ruling party intentionally harms foreign investors when signing contracts," said party representative Tazo Datunashvili.

According to Datunashvili, the "Georgian Dream" lost 154 million dollars in arbitration to the company "Magtis", 112 million dollars to the company "Inter RAO", and 400 million dollars to the Turkish company "Enka". Only these three failed projects cost the Georgian people more than one and a half billion lari (about 550 million dollars).

An economist and former deputy Roman Gotsiridze placed the responsibility for the results of the arbitration dispute with the company "ENKA" on the "Georgian Dream" party, calling them the result of criminal, corrupt actions. According to him, the funds lost during arbitration would have been sufficient to build the Anaklia port.

"Together, these fines would have allowed for the construction of the Anaklia port. This is the result of criminal, corrupt actions in which the "Georgian Dream" party has participated for years. The ease with which the court made its decision indicates a direct crime by the Georgian government," says Roman Gotsiridze.