Among the guests attending the opening ceremony of the new school building in thevillageofGhursalin the Lori marz was Ad Melkert, the World Bank’s Executive Director. Mr. Melkert had arrived fromTbilisi,Georgia. As is well known, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline is in the foreground of concern in neighboringAzerbaijanandGeorgia, as its construction can solve many political and economic problems, and give rise to ecological and social ones. Protest related to the issue has already become heated, especially inGeorgia. It is not yet clear whether the WB will participate in financing the BTC or not.

Mr. Melkert, was looking into the situation around the BTC pipeline part of your visit to Georgia?

Yes, the last three days I visitedGeorgiato look at different projects of the World Bank…and the possibility of providing financial support to that pipeline.

What conclusions did you come to?

Well, there is clearly an intention of the IFC (International Financial Corporation) to provide financial support, but the decisions will be taken in autumn of this year. And that relates to especially the environmental consequences. And that was one of the reasons why I went to the Borjomi region, to look at the place where the pipeline would come and the environmental impact of that.

And what did you find in Borjomi, which is considered to be the “most sensitive” area in Georgia?

Well, this is a sensitive area, that's clear, and a lot of attention should be given to that. I spoke with many representatives of NGOs in Borjomi, and my impression is that the government ofGeorgia, the BTC Consortium, and the NGOs are making very good progress in finding good measures to prevent negative environmental consequences. But that is not yet finalized, so the coming months will show whether it is possible to find an acceptable basis.

The main complaint of the environmental NGOs in Georgia is the fact that when decisions were taken (especially regarding the inclusion of Borjomi - a resort area and spa - into the BTC route), public opinion was not taken into consideration. Moreover, the findings of the independent Environmental Commission from the Netherlands on the impact on the environment were not taken into account either. 

Well, I must say that I am actually more optimistic now about the way that viewpoints of NGOs and of the Environment Commission are taken into account. And it is also very clear that for the WB it is a condition that there be a high involvement of civil society in order to design the way the project is to be implemented. And I have got a good impression of the progress that has been made, but there are still a number of questions outstanding.

Do you know that with the inclusion of Borjomi and Tsalka into the BTC route, a number of the laws of Georgia were violated, according to which these areas are reserves?

I think that discussion is still going on about that, and… I have stated clearly that the preventive measures to avoid negative environmental consequences have to be made in a more public and more explicit style. But I think that it will happen, because I have met great understanding and sensitivity within the government ofGeorgiaand within the BTC Consortium. But the coming months will show whether it will happen.

In Azerbaijan the historical monuments are of concern, in particular, the inclusion of the Gobustan historical reserve into the route.

I think there are some differences between the measures that have to be taken inAzerbaijan, inGeorgiaand inTurkey. But in the WB, the whole project will be judged and that will happen in some months to come.