By Vladimir Tskhvediani, Georgia, exclusively for Caliber.Az
TBILISI, August 15 — The Georgian government is preparing an ambitious plan to build a dedicated “government city” to centralize most state institutions in one location. While officials stress that this is not a full-scale capital relocation, the complex would likely be situated within Tbilisi’s administrative boundaries — either in one of the city’s districts or on its outskirts — with the aim of launching the project as early as 2026.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has instructed the Municipal Development Fund to commission a design and budget plan. The goal is to address long-standing logistical and administrative inefficiencies caused by ministries and agencies being scattered across the congested capital.
Tbilisi’s growing traffic crisis, worsened by rapid construction and streets ill-suited for today’s vehicle volumes, has made inter-agency travel increasingly difficult. Many ministries occupy aging buildings in prime city areas — premises that could be better integrated into the urban landscape if repurposed.
The idea of relocating state institutions is not new. Former president Mikheil Saakashvili attempted to shift parliamentary functions to Kutaisi and moved the Constitutional Court to Batumi. While the court remains in Batumi, the Kutaisi experiment collapsed due to logistical and political challenges, leading to parliament’s return to Tbilisi in 2019.
Officials argue that a “government city” on the capital’s outskirts — where there are still open areas, forests, and undeveloped land — could ease downtown traffic and improve administrative efficiency. However, any construction would have to balance urban development with environmental preservation, as many of these sites are near upscale residential areas and natural landscapes.
The final location has not yet been confirmed, but the project marks the government’s most significant effort in years to reimagine the spatial and functional organization of state power in Georgia.
