Georgia’s Vice Prime Minister and State Minister for Coordination of Law Enforcement Agencies Mamuka Mdinaradze has criticized the Rike Tibes building in Tbilisi, saying restoring it would cost more than the structure itself.
Speaking to journalists, Mdinaradze claimed that people familiar with the building had concluded it was poorly designed and had major functional problems, including issues with its climate control system.
“To get inside this building and give you a chance to survive would cost much more than the building itself,” Mdinaradze said.
He compared the structure with the former Kutaisi Parliament building, saying temperatures inside the building had reached 55 degrees on some floors due to problems with the ventilation system. Mdinaradze claimed the situation at Rike Docks was even worse.
The Vice Prime Minister also said no investor had managed to make the building functional and claimed the current owners were ready to dismantle it and give it to anyone willing to rebuild it elsewhere.
“The owners are ready not only to dismantle it, but to give it to any interested person who wants to rebuild it in another place,” Mdinaradze said, adding that no one had expressed interest so far because of the expected costs.
Meanwhile, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze responded to a statement from Italian architecture firm Studio Fuksas, which designed Rike Tubes, saying the municipality had not received any letters from the firm.
Studio Fuksas said it had repeatedly attempted to contact Tbilisi City Hall and the building’s current private owners over the past year to discuss alternatives to demolition, but had received no response.
“No letter has been received from them. If it had been received, the relevant municipal services would have responded,” Kaladze stated.
The mayor argued that the decision regarding Rike Tubes had already been made, describing the building as non-functional and saying tens of millions of GEL had been spent on the project.
Kaladze added that the building is now privately owned and that the municipality is not responsible for decisions regarding its future. He said Studio Fuksas should negotiate directly with the owner if it wants to discuss relocating or repurposing the structure.
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