Thousands of people took to the streets in the Georgian city of Kutaisi to demand that Economy Minister Natela Turnava step down amid public uproar over the Turkish-led construction of a new power plant, local media reported on Sunday, March 14.

People have been protesting the construction of the Namakhvani hydroelectric power plant in Georgia's Rioni River valley by Turkish company Enka for some four months now.

The protesters demand the cancelation of the governmental decree that entails the transfer of the Rioni valley to a foreign investor, the termination of the contract with Enka, as well as the resignation of Turnava

Protests against the Namakhvani project normally attract climate activists, civil society leaders and ordinary citizens who fear that their livelihood and the region's environment will be affected by the construction.

The Namakhvani project encompasses two separate HPPs of 333 MW and 100 MW on the Rioni River. The government hopes to enhance its energy security and to employ up to 1,600 Georgians with the “foreign direct investment in the amount of $800 million.”