Summary: The structure of an electric car factory in Kutaisi was announced as early as 2019 by then-Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze. According to its commitment, the electric car factory will be built in collaboration between the Chinese company Changan and the company I-Group, which will start selling electric vehicles as early as 2020.
To this end, the government has transferred a land of one hundred hectares for the symbolic value of 1 GEL, subject to privatization conditions. Under these conditions, the company had to create a company that would generate electric cars within a maximum period of time. 24 months after the signing of the agreement and had to produce at least five thousand electric cars, alone or through third parties, within a maximum period of 24 months. In addition, he had to employ another three hundred people for at least 18 months. According to the appraisal of the Levan Samkharauli forensic medical office, the market cost of the above-mentioned non-agricultural land amounted to 86 million lari.
The implementation of the assignment was hampered due to the COVID pandemic. In April 2021, the government extended the contract with the company and extended the duration of construction of the plant from 24 to 36 months. The production start year was set for 2022.
In October 2021, the Georgian Prime Minister, during his visit to Kutaisi, stated that the production of electric cars would start soon. In two months after this statement, the then Minister of Economy, Natia Turnava, was already speaking about the production of electric batteries instead of electric cars. In April 2022, the Prime Minister still raised the issue of electric cars and claimed that there were active negotiations with the Chinese side on the extension of the project.
A year and a half has passed since the Prime Minister’s last visit and there is still no progress in terms of the construction of the electric car factory. As a result, the production of electric cars promised years ago did not start in either 2020 or 2022 and the commitment remains a commitment.
Taking these circumstances into account, FactCheck concludes that Rostom Chkheidze’s story is TRUE.
Analysis: During the consultation of the Georgian Parliament, MP Rostom Chkheidze spoke about the order of an electric car factory whose structure he announced in Kutaisi and said: “The Georgian Dream has submitted with great fanfare an order for an electric car factory in Kutaisi. The Prime Minister at that time said that electric cars to be produced there would be Georgia’s main export product. The land, valued at several million laris, has been transferred to Group I, which has close ties to the Georgian Dream. According to the order, the electric car factory to be built in 24 months with an area of one hundred hectares. Promises are promises.
In April 2019, Mamuka Bakhtadze, then Prime Minister, announced the structure of an electric car factory in Kutaisi. In June 2019, a first presentation was held in Kutaisi, in which the Prime Minister spoke about the task and said: For the first time in our region, the production of electric cars is starting in Georgia. The Changan company, which is the largest electric car manufacturer in the world and has a strategic partnership with giants such as Volvo, Volkswagen, and Ford, has decided that the electric car factory will be built in Georgia and that as early as 2020 we will be able to supply the electric car market.
The then Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze also added: “The factory’s production capacity will be 40,000 cars. Of that amount, 50% will be intended for the domestic market and 20,000 will be exported to the EU. This is a huge success as the electric cars under the Made in Georgia trademark will be a major export product to the European market from Georgia.”
The government transferred a 100 ha land plot with all existing constructions to the I-Group company (legal name Big Service) to build a factory for the symbolic price of GEL 1. In accordance with the assessment of the Levan Samkharauli Forensics Bureau, the0market value of the aforementioned non-agricultural land plot was GEL 86 million. According to the privatisation conditions, the company was to create an enterprise to produce electric cars in no more than 24 months after signing the deal and it was to produce at least 5,000 electric cars either on its own or through the third party within a period of no more than 18 months. In addition, it was also supposed to employ 300 people for at least 18 months.
The pandemic broke out in 2020 which hindered project implementation and the production of the electric cars was postponed.
On April 5, 2021, the contract with the company was extended (source: iFact) and the duration of the factory structure was increased to 36 months. According to the contract, the Kutaisi electric car plant will start car production from 2022.
In October 2021, Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili, on his stopover in Kutaisi, stated that the electric car task had been hampered due to the pandemic and its implementation had been delayed.
In particular, the Prime Minister stated: “I would like to inform Kutaisians that as per my instructions, we have already renewed and started negotiations with the investor company. A Large part of the factory equipment has already been delivered here and we will everything in our capacity to finalise this project. We will start to produce electric cars here very soon and I will do my best to make this happen.”
Two months after this statement, the then Minister of Economy, Natia Turnava, claimed that the government had stopped producing electric batteries at the factory, as the pandemic had hampered the structure of the electric car factory.
In April 2022, Irakli Gharibashvili again spoke about the electric car factory and said that the government is looking to renew the contract with the Chinese company and that there are active works in this direction.
A year and a half has passed since the Prime Minister’s last statement and the electric car factory in the city of Kutaisi has still not been built. Moreover, there is not the slightest prospect that the production of the automobiles can begin.
Taking into account the above circumstances, FactCheck concludes that Rostom Chkheidze’s story is TRUE.
Author – Veriko Sukhiashvili
In the 2024 edition of the annual POLITICO ranking of Europe’s most influential people, former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili is. . .
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