UAE project mix of fantasy and risk, not real investment, opposition figure

Roman Gotsiridze, an opposition politician, has criticised the government’s claims on UAE investment, calling it a blend of “fantasy and risky reality”.

Speaking to Front News, Gotsiridze said the initiative did not involve investment in technology, industry or tourism, but rather the construction of housing intended for foreign nationals.

Gotsiridze argued that recent statements by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze had revealed an even more troubling picture than previously assumed, adding that key details of the project remained classified.

He drew parallels with past controversial agreements, including the secret contracts with Namakhvani HPP investors and Inter RAO, which he said had cost Georgia more than $500 million - an amount he described as equivalent to the entire first phase of the Anaklia deep-sea port.

Gotsiridze also questioned why the government failed to employ an international advisory firm when negotiating the latest agreement and criticised the role of Rothschild & Co., which, he claimed, received ₾10 million from the Prime Minister’s reserve fund but produced “not a single page” of work. Despite repeated parliamentary requests, he said, the government has never presented documentation explaining how the money was spent.

According to Gotsiridze, the so-called UAE project amounted to a large-scale residential development - aimed at improving living conditions for foreigners rather than Georgians.

He insisted that no Arab sovereign fund was participating in the project, directly or through subsidiaries. “Everyone has now realised that this was a bluff from the very beginning,” he said.