Ecolur: Effects of "Namakhvani" Dam Project on Lechkhumian Villages

 Published in 2019, an interesting and detailed article describing some of the consequences that will be faced by local residents upon completion of the Namokhvani ("Namakhvani") dam. Check it out!

https://www.ecolur.org/en/news/energy/spirit-of-namakhvani-hpp-cascade-doesnt-allow-villages-in-georgias-lechkhumi-region-to-develop/11379/ 

Image credit to Ecolur.org.

Namokhvani or Namakhvani?

 Two spellings are used in reference to the Namokhvani Dam project: Namokhvani and Namakhvani. Which one is correct?

The village in Imereti where the dam is being built is and has always been called: Namokhvani.

However, as this project was originally conceived when Georgia was part of the Soviet Union, a Russianized pronunciation came to be used among outsiders who sought to wall off this section of the Rioni: Namakhvani.

Therefore, in all official and corporate documents, you will see the use of the name "Namakhvani" when referring to the dam. The builders of the dam are so disconnected from local issues that they even refer to the dam which they plan to build at Tvishi - a full 20 kilometers upstream - as the "Upper Namakhvani Dam". In contrast, protesters from the local area tend to refer to the projects by the names of the local areas: Namokhvani Dam and Tvishi Dam.

This blog will prefer the term "Namokhvani" in solidarity with local villagers, who we believe have more right to the name of an area, and the valley of their ancestral homes, than a foreign company who has gone and bought it out from under them without their consent.

Pictured: The place in Namokhvani where the dam is planned to be built.

OC Media Article: Good Overview of Local Protests in English

 While we work on bringing Georgian language material into English, there was a nice report published yesterday in OC Media, describing the ongoing protests by local villagers at the ENKA company local headquarters in Zhoneti. Check it out! https://oc-media.org/activists-paralyse-dam-construction-in-northwest-georgia/

Welcome

Greetings to all. This page is an attempt to collect English language information about the Namokhvani, Tvishi, and Oni dam projects planned on the Rioni River. Locals of the Rioni valley are currently engaged in widespread protest against the $800 million project which threatens to destroy their homes and livelihoods and irrevocably damage the ecology of the Lechkhumi, Racha, and Imereti regions. Please like or follow this page to learn more about this beautiful, fertile land which is planned to disappear beneath giant reservoirs, and to hear the latest information just as soon as we can hear about and translate it. If you are a Georgian speaker and have information you can share with us, please get in contact.

Pictured: The site where the Namokhvani dam is intended to be built. The Turkish company ENKA, contracted to construct, operate, and own the dam, was working illegally at this site until local protests forced them to halt construction in October 2020.