Part I

Draft Black Sea Regional Transmission Project ESIA
Georgia total
Georgian -83.8%,
Abkhaz – 0.1%,
Ossetian – 0.9%,
Russian – 1.5%,
Ukrainian – 0.2,
Azerbaijanian – 6.5%,
Armenian – 5.7%,
Jewish – 0.1%,
Greek – 0.3%,
Kurd – 0.5
Table 4.2-3. Ethnicity of Georgia and of Districts along the
transmission line corridor
Marneuli
(District)
Azeri -
100%
Kvemo Kartli
Tetritskaro
(District)
Georgian –
34%,
Armenian -
34% and
other
ethnicity
Tsalka
(District)
Greek -
43%,
Georgian
and
Armenian
– 56%
Samtskhe-Javakheti
Borjomi
(District)
Georgian -
70%,
Armenian and
Greek – 30%
Akhaltsikhe
(District)
Georgian –
60%,
Armenian –
40%
Sources: BTC Co., 2002 and Ministry of Economic Development of Georgia, 2009
Imereti
Region
Zestap
honi
(District
)
Georgia
n –
100%
4.2.3 Infrastructure
Roads. Secondary roads in the area along the route are generally in poor condition, with
better-maintained and more traveled primary roads crossing the line near larger towns and
where the line crosses routes between major towns. The roads that parallel the lines
themselves are rarely paved and are generally in poor condition. If the secondary roads
have been asphalted in the past, they have not been well-maintained and have been
degraded by weather and excessive use. Often the asphalt has become so degraded that
vehicles travel on paths along the road. This creates erosion and wear on the terrain, and
additional subsequent paths are taken, resulting in large barren swaths of land up to 500
meters wide that consists of vehicle tracks that are no longer suitable for any other types of
use. (See figure 4.2-2). In several cases, in fact, attempts to visit communities were
hindered by poor road conditions, and this was exacerbated by bad weather.
Additional roads are being built
in the southern portion of
Georgia, funded by the U.S.
through Millennium Challenge
Georgia. The Samtskhe-
Javakheti Road Rehabilitation
Project aims at restoring the
road and transport network in
the region. With a total budget
of USD 183,6 million, the
project envisages rehabilitation
of the 223.9 kilometer road in
Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-
Javakheti
regions.
(Bochorishvili, 2009) The
transmission line will cross this
road around Tsalka. (MCG,
2007)
Other main roads and railways
that will be crossed by the line
Figure 4.2-2. Typical secondary road along the
transmission line route. Original paved route has been
abandoned for successive unpaved tracks.
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