Besik Donadze: “The government has been constructing the Samtredia-Grigoleti road section for 12 years but still has not managed to finish it.”

Verdict: FactCheck concludes that Besik Donadze’s statement is MOSTLY TRUE.

The construction of the Samtredia-Grigoleti road began in 2014 and is divided into four sections. Almost all sections were built with flaws with the first and third proving the most problematic. A bridge under construction collapsed on the first section and has yet to be rebuilt. Work is still underway on the embankment, stone columns and drainage layer on the third section. The Samtredia-Grigoleti road remains unfinished 11 years after the work began whilst the Roads Department has yet to announce an estimated completion date. This part of the aforementioned statement is, therefore, accurate.
Besik Donadze also mentions the project’s budget which has increased multiple times since the construction began: whilst GEL 237 million was initially allocated, the 2025 draft budget envisages GEL 1,144,484,090 for the project of which GEL 784,484,900 had been spent by 2023. The GEL 70 million cited by Mr Donadze refers to the contract signed with GEO Group which won a 2021 tender to finish the first section. Companies Altcom and Akordi were contracted for this section previously; however, their contracts were terminated due to failure to deliver. We do not comment on Mr Donadze’s claim on theft and do not consider this point relevant to the verdict.
As for the arbitration dispute, the Roads Department launched three cases in French international arbitration to recover losses caused by the companies. It hired an international law firm to this end, paying a total of GEL 10 million for legal services. The Department won all three cases with the arbitration court awarding approximately GEL 187 million in compensation across the disputes. Despite spending GEL 10 million on legal fees, the Department succeeded in securing compensation. It is also worth noting that the company Altcom no longer exists.
Considering all the above, FactCheck concludes that Besik Donadze’s statement is MOSTLY TRUE.

Analysis

Besik Donadze, a member of the Coalition for Change, commented on the Samtredia-Grigoleti road on Formula TV, stating: “The government has been building the Samtredia-Grigoleti road section for 12 years but still has not completed it. A total of GEL 70 million was stolen during this construction. In addition to this GEL 70 million, the Roads Department spent more than GEL 10 million on legal disputes and is suing a company that physically no longer exists.”

The Samtredia-Grigoleti road is one of the key sections of the highway, totalling 51.5 kilometres and divided into four lots, financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB). Construction began in 2014. All four lots have faced delays (see article). The first and third sections proved especially problematic.

The first section, spanning 11.5 kilometres, included plans for 25 underground passages and culverts, as well as eight overpasses, including three bridges and an overpass crossing the railway. Work began in 2014 and was supposed to finish in 2016. The Ukrainian company Altcom completed only 24% of the contracted work. The Department terminated the contract and took the company to arbitration to recover an advance payment of EUR 18,338,910 – and won. The remaining work has been carried out by the company Akordi since 2018. The government announced a new tender to select a final contractor in 2021. GEO Group won the tender with a GEL 73.7 million contract.

A bridge under construction on Section I of the Samtredia-Grigoleti road collapsed in February last year. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

Flooding from the Rioni River damaged the eighth pier of the bridge under construction on the first section of the Samtredia-Grigoleti road, according to the Roads Department at the time, explaining that because the river’s water level was too high, the rehabilitation work could not be carried out immediately and would begin once the water level dropped.

The Department later announced that the Levan Samkharauli National Bureau of Forensic Expertise was conducting an expert examination of the damaged bridge. An investigation into the incident was also underway.

The results of the examination became known ten months later. The report found that the collapse of the eighth pier was caused by the grid work of the pile foundation, which did not meet project standards and was of poor quality, according to the Roads Department. The flood washed away the soil beneath the grid work and the slab could not withstand the pressure from the piers. As a result, the piers broke through the grid work, causing two pipes of the pier to collapse into the riverbed. The examination of other structural elements also found that whilst the work was done according to the project, it was defective and of poor quality.

The Roads Department stated that it would soon announce a tender for the design and reconstruction of the bridge based on the findings. However, the report would first be forwarded to the relevant investigative bodies as the investigation was still ongoing.

Only two lots on the Samtredia-Grigoleti road – Lot II (Japana-Lanchkhuti) and Lot III (Khajalia-Supsa) are open whilst Lot I (Samtredia-Japana) and Lot III (Lanchkhuti-Khajalia) remain unfinished. Construction continues on the third section, which involves building a 12-kilometre, four-lane asphalt-concrete road, according to the Roads Department. Work is currently focused on the embankment, stone columns and drainage layer. Meanwhile, construction of the bridge on the first section has yet to resume.

As for the budget, GEL 237 million was allocated for the Samtredia-Grigoleti road according to the 2013 draft – initially expected to be completed in three years. The budget for this section had risen to GEL 633 million by 2017 with the completion date pushed forward by another three years. The 2020 budget allocated a total of GEL 812 million for the project which was then expected to finish by the end of 2022. A total of GEL 1,144,484,090 is earmarked for the project of which GEL 787,484,900 had been spent by 2023 according to the 2025 budget. No completion date has been set this time.

It is also worth noting that the Roads Department of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia has pursued three disputes in international arbitration in France, involving the construction companies working on the first and third sections of the Samtredia-Grigoleti road, as well as the Zemo Osiauri-Chumateleti section of the East-West International Expressway (E-60).

The Roads Department terminated the contracts with the contractor companies due to their failure to fulfil their obligations and initiated legal disputes in international arbitration to recover the resulting damages. The cases were heard in the Paris International Arbitration court, represented by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and supported by international law firms (including White &Case, which was hired under a legal services agreement worth a total of GEL 10 million). The arbitration court ruled in favour of the Roads Department in all three cases, awarding approximately GEL 187 million in compensation.

Considering all the above, FactCheck concludes that Besik Donadze’s statement is MOSTLY TRUE.