The President of Georgia visited Borjomi today. Mikheil Saakashvili arrived at the Borjomi St. Mary Church and congratulated the parish and Bishop Seraphim on the holiday.
The Head of State later toured the rehabilitation sites in Borjomi with the Minister of Economic Development. Mikheil Saakashvili visited the new bridge, Café-Bar, restaurants and hotels under construction.
“This bridge was Goga Khachidze’s creation. We have very talented people in the government. Someone might say that it is not the business of a Minister to draw bridges, but he should draw and do other work too. They have a new topic to talk about and they will definitely criticize him. The new bridge looks very good in the local environment. Akhaltsikhe and Abastumani are very important for Borjomi because it is possible to go on a tour of Aklatsikhe and Vardzia from here, and then move to Abastumani. The new road leads us to Sairme and later to the balneology resorts of Vani and Samtredia. From Tskaltubo we can go up to Shaori and Utsera. Considering what we are doing in general, a circle of resorts is being created. Borjomi was dead formerly. This city has been resurrected. This infrastructure gives tourists a way of using this resort all year round and the local residents to earn money. The Kutaisi Airport will assist them because there is the same travel distance from Tbilisi and Kutaisi to Borjomi. Through this project we are also helping the private businesses” – noted Mikheil Saakashvili.
The President of Georgia later walked the streets of Borjomi and inspected the rehabilitated park where he expressed interest in works that are still going on. Mikheil Saakashvili later met with tourists and local residents and talked to them about the new opportunities of the resort.
“I am glad that a lot of people, who are originally from Abkhazia, come here to rest. 5 new hotels will be opened here next year. This is just a beginning. We have now begun to build Lazika. We are rehabilitating Skuri and Lebarde in Samegrelo. If we hadn’t rehabilitated this place now the generation which knows about Borjomi would not come back here in 5-6 years. A very important thing is being done in this direction. The park has become incredibly beautiful. Borjomi no longer had any resting places, but everything will be created now” – noted the President of Georgia.