Khada Valley

Khada Valley Development Plan is funded by the Asian Development Bank and led by Bau Design. The new Kvesheti-Kobi road will bypass Gudauri and cut travel times on this specific part of the Tbilisi-Stepantsminda-Larsi international road to 20 minutes. Since the road infrastructure is a large-scale project and will eventually impact the everyday livelihoods of the valley residents, it is important to have a long-term development vision for the region which will take into consideration the actual needs of the people living in surrounding areas.

I was involved in the project as an independent national consultant on mobility. The task was divided into two parts. The first chapter included researching the existing conditions and spatial analysis. At this stage, a spatial pattern of socio-economic activities and their gravity model was identified, in addition to the challenges and needs of the local population in regards to mobility and accessiblity.

The next, vision stage included the development of a possible future scenario with a collective public transit system as key to the improvment of accessibility and mobility of the local residents. The allocation of space for parking in close vicinity to the access to the bypass road in Kvesheti is also an essential part of the future scenario. This is especially important to regulate and limit possibly increased flows of traffic into the Khada Valley, as it has a great potential for sustainble economic development and hostpitality sector in particular. The region has a lot to offer of its natural and cultural landscape, which will need to be protected and preserved from the destructive force of mass tourism.