Trump Tower is going to be built in Batumi. After 6-month conservation, Silk Road Group, which owns the license for constructing this high-class residential complex, says the project will continue. InterPressNews agency has spoken to Giorgi Mari, the Head of Real Estate department of Silk Road Group, about the reasons why the project has been stopped and what are the company’s future plans.

- Did the Silk Road Group have a contact with Trump Org after the US elections?

The Silk Road Group had an honor to congratulate the Trump Organization and the entire Trump family with this historic event. The Silk Road Group is confident that during the presidency of Mr. Trump United States and Georgia will further strengthen economic, business and cultural relations.

-When was the Trump Tower project idea conceived, when was its implementation start and what is the scope of the project? 

The idea was born in 2010 in New York after the meeting of representatives of the Trump Organization and the Silk Road Group New York office, upon which the parties agreed on the development of the Trump branded joint projects in Georgia. 

License for construction of the Trump Tower was given to the Silk Road Group in New York in March 2011 after concluding of a license agreement. The agreement was personally signed by Mr. Trump on behalf of the Trump Organization and George Ramishvili, the founder of the group, on behalf of Silk Road.

Construction of the Trump Tower Batumi was decided on a so-called Batumi Riviera site. Master Plan for the Batumi Riviera was completed in 2011. The plan perceives landscaping of the 6-hectare land owned by the Silk Road Group plus its adjacent 1.5 hectares, outfitting of the nearby beaches and reconstruction of the adjacent marine harbor into the modern yacht club. The centerpiece of the Batumi Riviera Master Plan is construction of a premier-class residential building of the Trump Tower.

In April 2012 Mr. Trump visited Georgia following an official invitation of the Silk Road Group. During his visit Mr. Trump had personally reviewed every detail of the Batumi Riviera Master Plan and examined the construction site, after which the project was officially presented to the public in the attendance of the government of Georgia. It was an unprecedented level of support for the Batumi Trump Tower project on behalf of Mr. Donald Trump.

Unfortunately, later on the Trump Tower project came to a halt, because, on the one hand, the prices for real estate in the region did not show the expected growth, and besides, the Silk Road Group has encountered unexpected resistance of the then government of Ajara, as the conditions set out in the project were not met, despite the fact that these details were part of a master plan approved by the government and presented in an exactly that arrangement to investors as in New York, so in Batumi. Due to this uncertainty implementation of the project has been put off.

-What is the future of this project and is its implementation planned during the next 4 years of the Donald Trump's presidency.

As it is obvious, we have a 6-year consistent relationship with the Trump organization. We have been, together with the Trump Org., observing the situation. Following improvement of the real estate market and favorable investment environment in Georgia in recent years we can say that we have grounds for optimism and we are planning to go back to this ambitious project in nearest future.

This is the vein that is a foundation of our plans to implement the original idea and build the Trump Tower in Batumi. Of course, successful cooperation is a prerequisite of continuing working on many other ideas and projects with such a prominent partner as the Trump Organization.

I would like to finally note that the Silk Road Group and Silk Road Group Transatlantic Alliance continue to work actively for strengthening the economic, business and cultural ties with the United States of America.

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Will construction of Trump Tower resume in Batumi?