The President of Georgia visited Gudauri today with the Mayor of Tbilisi – Gigi Ugulava and familiarized himself with the Gudauri development plan. The “new Gudauri” now has the largest and fastest ropeway in the Caucasus region, which the President and the First Lady personally used today.

“The Mayor of Tbilisi – Gigi Ugulava has adopted Gudauri as a foster child, made it a member of his family and set a goal to install the first ropeway of such scale and length here. 3 years ago we built things here but since the establishment of Gudauri such a breakthrough has never occurred. Gigi has installed not only the roadway, but he is creating a completely new Gudauri. Developing this side of Georgia means that a new prospect is being opened for the local residents and for the entire country. Some of the construction workers had been working even in the worst weather conditions. The government is truly unrelenting in such cases. When we say something will be done in March, it is going to be done in March. And by the way, there is a lot more to do” – stated Mikheil Saakashvili. He then decorated 9 members of the foundation with Medals of Honor for their contribution in the development of Gudauri.

The President of Georgia toured the information center built for tourist near the ski slopes and tested the new ski run with his spouse.

“The main strategy here is the fact that the hectic construction has ended, leaving a developed place, which is Gudauri. This is the beauty of Georgia, its treasure, and this is why it needs special care. Gigi’s hand in it is evident. Bakuriani is more of a family place and that is why children’s infrastructure needs to develop there. As of Svaneti, there will be a huge potential there after we finish the Kutaisi and Poti airports. We have already built the road there. Now we are building airports. Hatsvali was also built near Mestia. The Tetnuldi Resort will be built now – the construction work will begin this year. We will definitely rehabilitate Ushguli, Etseri, and Chuberi. Mestia will be in the middle, surrounded by several resorts, just like the famous resorts of Switzerland and Austria. I think that Svaneti will mostly draw European tourists. The beauty of Gudauri is in the fact that it is close to the Tbilisi Airport and this is a unique proximity to the resort of international importance. There is a resort of international significance also being built in Adjara and I think that it will attract tourists from neighboring countries, Turkey, Armenia…This is a comprehensive strategy. We are building a local scale resort in Bakhmaro as well as a few resorts in Adjara and Akhalkalaki. In the end, people will be employed all year round in places where we are building winter resorts because these places also have summer resorts. There is no poverty in places which have ski resorts. On the contrary – people are very rich. However, if we pay close attention, the most poverty is in the places where we are building resorts – Mestia, mountainous Adjara, places around Akhalkalaki, Bakhmaro, Mtskheta-Mtianeti…This is a mechanism for overcoming poverty. The number of tourists will increase, which means additional investments in the economy of Georgia. Moreover, this makes the name of Georgia known abroad. The most important thing is that this is a social program. In short, a very good thing is being done and this is a good start. All of this is not in the distant future; it is the 2015 modernization plan. The year of 2015 is the final date to make everything irreversible. Several hundreds of millions will be invested in the rehabilitation of our resorts and this will help tens of thousands of people, create prospects for their families, and return to them a feeling of future. This is very important” – stated the President of Georgia.

The length of the new ropeway is 2,450 meters and it can transport 2,800 persons per hour. The Gudauri development project has been operational since spring 2011. There is already a sports infrastructure in place and sports schools are also functioning, which will contribute to holding international tournaments.