In Tbilisi, a dispute is flaring up over the future of the Rike Park territory, where the famous "Foxes pipes" - an unfinished cultural complex designed by the Italian architect Massimiliano Foxes - are being dismantled. The investor requests to change the urban planning conditions of the site with an area of ​​14,591 square meters. m in the historical center of the capital. According to lawyer and former member of parliament Irakli Absedza, the proposed parameters may allow the construction of a facility with a total area of ​​67,761 square meters. from. We are talking about moving the area from recreation and transportation areas to a public and business area of ​​the second kind. Absedza claims that Prime Minister Irakli Kobhidze's decree of May 6, 2026 allows the implementation of a hotel project, and it is possible that casinos, restaurants and other commercial facilities will also appear on the site. The Municipality of Tbilisi completely denied the reports according to which the investor had already requested permission to build a ten-story hotel. The municipal administration explained that a request was received for the approval of the allocation for city planning, but the applicant did not submit the necessary documents - a project proposal, an explanatory note and a sketch of the future development. "Tbilisi municipality did not accept such a project," the mayor's office said in a statement. According to the authorities, at this stage neither a complete application nor any construction project is being considered: plans for a specific building have not yet been approved, and the question of the future use of the place remains open. As for the "pipes" themselves, the complex of two metal buildings was built during the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili: it was planned to house a concert hall and an exhibition space, but the object never started working as planned. About 75 million lari were spent on construction from the state budget. In 2022, the complex was sold at auction in the sixth attempt for 10.02 million Lahglid, and in 2025, control of the owner's company was transferred to the structure of the Turkish Macro Group.

In Tbilisi, a dispute is flaring up over the future of the Rike Park territory, where the famous "Foxes pipes" - an unfinished cultural complex designed by the Italian architect Massimiliano Foxes - are being dismantled. The investor requests to change the urban planning conditions of the site with an area of ​​14,591 square meters. m in the historical center of the capital. According to lawyer and former member of parliament Irakli Absedza, the proposed parameters may allow the construction of a facility with a total area of ​​67,761 square meters. from. We are talking about moving the area from recreation and transportation areas to a public and business area of ​​the second kind. Absedza claims that Prime Minister Irakli Kobhidze's decree of May 6, 2026 allows the implementation of a hotel project, and it is possible that casinos, restaurants and other commercial facilities will also appear on the site. The Municipality of Tbilisi completely denied the reports according to which the investor had already requested permission to build a ten-story hotel. The municipal administration explained that a request was received for the approval of the allocation for city planning, but the applicant did not submit the necessary documents - a project proposal, an explanatory note and a sketch of the future development. "Tbilisi municipality did not accept such a project," the mayor's office said in a statement. According to the authorities, at this stage neither a complete application nor any construction project is being considered: plans for a specific building have not yet been approved, and the question of the future use of the place remains open. As for the "pipes" themselves, the complex of two metal buildings was built during the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili: it was planned to house a concert hall and an exhibition space, but the object never started working as planned. About 75 million lari were spent on construction from the state budget. In 2022, the complex was sold at auction in the sixth attempt for 10.02 million Lahglid, and in 2025, control of the owner's company was transferred to the structure of the Turkish Macro Group.