The National Environmental Agency issued an environmental decision on the arrangement of an artificial island in the Black Sea by LLC "Ambassador Batumi Island" in Batumi.
Environmental Assessment
Taking into account the scale and importance of the project of setting up an artificial island in the Black Sea, as well as in order to ensure maximum transparency, the National Environment Agency publishes information about the administrative proceedings conducted on the said project.
LLC “Ambassador Batumi Island” presented an environmental impact assessment report of the arrangement of an artificial island in the marine waters of Batumi and the attached documentation provided by the legislation to the LEPL National Environmental Agency on November 24, 2023. Within the framework of the proceedings, the agency ensured the creation of an expert commission and the involvement of relevant agencies in the administrative proceedings. In order to inform the interested public and their participation in the decision-making process, full transparency of the process was ensured.
At the stage of administrative proceedings, in order to clarify the issues and present complete information, the agency stopped the administrative proceedings on April 19, 2024, and asked the company to submit additional/corrected documentation related to the project. The revised documentation was also public, and a deadline for submission of comments and opinions was set for interested parties. The information was forwarded to the expert commission for review and presentation of relevant conclusions.
At the production stage, LLC "Terminal 1" submitted a correspondence to the agency, according to which LLC "Terminal 1" considered the construction/arrangement of the island inadmissible within the presented project since the project area of the island covers the international maritime traffic coming to the berth of LLC "Terminal 1" along the route of entry, maneuvering, and berthing of ships and posed a threat to the safe operation of the terminal. Based on the above, on August 2, 2024, the agency again suspended the administrative proceedings and asked "Ambassador Batumi Island" LLC to provide detailed information/documentation regarding the issues raised by LLC "Terminal 1.".
LLC "Terminal 1" additionally applied to the agency on August 5, 2024. Since the issues raised in the letters were beyond the scope of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and, accordingly, the competence of the National Environment Agency, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia was informed about this and asked to provide detailed opinions. According to the position presented by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, taking into account the distance between "Terminal 1" and "Ambassador Batumi Island" LLC, the entry and exit of tankers will not be restricted to the berth used by "Terminal 1"; also, "Ambassador" LLC The construction planned by "Batumi Island" and its subsequent operation will not pose a threat to the operation of the port infrastructure under the operation of "Terminal 1" LLC, including the safe entry/exit of ships in the terminal's waters.
Taking into account the above mentioned and on the basis of the letter of August 12, 2024, LLC “Ambassador Batumi Island,” the administrative proceedings were continued.
As a result of the reconciliation of the conclusions of the expert commission for the review of the presented information/documentation and the evaluation of the existing documentation in Batumi, "Ambassador Batumi Island" LLC issued an environmental decision on the arrangement of an artificial island in the Black Sea, which reflected the reasoned remarks/opinions presented by the public.
It should be noted that all the documents submitted during the administrative proceedings were public and can be viewed at the following link: https://ei.gov.ge/ka/info/07c2fbc5-6f92-4ead-8caf-bbb2fab13af1
