On 17 November, Tbilisi hosted the construction forum Green and Modern Smart City Technologies in Urban Development. The event was organised by Property Georgia and FIABCI-Georgia in partnership with Solidarity Fund PL – Fundacja Solidarności Międzynarodowej. The forum was sponsored by the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) and the Embassy of Poland in Georgia.
The forum was opened by the Polish ambassador to Georgia Mariusz Maszkiewicz. The event consisted of two sessions, the first concerning the planning and funding of sustainable urban development, while the second session was devoted to green and modern smart city technologies in urban development. Guest speakers invited by the Embassy of Poland included urban development and planning expert Lukasz Pancewicz from the Gdansk University of Technology, and biotechnologist Dr. Mateusz Luba from the Warsaw Institute of Electrical Engineering.
According to the head of PAIH Ekaterine Beruashvili, modern urban planning is facing big challenges related to the dynamic growth of urban population, environmental pollution and limited availability of resources. “To combat these challenges, Poland is implementing various initiatives that promote the development of green technologies. This country is investing a lot in the development of renewable energy, especially in the field of wind power plants, while also promoting the development of electric vehicles,” Ms Beruashvili stated. According to her, the Polish government has implemented programmes supporting energy efficiency in buildings and enterprises, and is actively involved in international initiatives. Poland also attaches importance to spatial planning and land development, which includes the protection of natural areas and promotion of ecological urban solutions.
“Since the day Property Georgia and FIABCI-Georgia were founded, our activities have largely served to raise awareness and share knowledge about green, sustainable and resilient construction practices. We always strive to engage and bring together all the main local and international industry stakeholders in order to raise the profile of these topics, take actionable steps and improve the industry ecosystem,” states Property Georgia founder and managing partner Lika Kardava.
The topics referred to in the name of the Green and Modern Smart City Technologies in Urban Development forum, and the sharing of experience in this regard, is vitally important for the industry as a whole. Poland is one of the leading countries in every field, be it energy-efficient construction or technological solutions that have a positive impact on the sustainable development of the construction and real estate sector and lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions. It is important to consider the practical experience of the Poles by looking at how they implement all of this in real estate projects, urban planning and design of public spaces. From the Polish perspective, it is also important to share the relevant legislative practices,” states FIABCI-Georgia president and director of Schuchmann Group Nutsa Abramishvili. According to her, Georgia is a country of European standards, where a number of issues relating to green construction are already included in the legislation, but there is still more to be done with regards to developing the use of renewable energy such as solar and wind power. “This is a future that is directly linked to development, reduced energy consumption and better care for the environment,” Ms Abramishvili explains.
“Last year, Poland recorded the largest decrease in CO2 emissions among the EU countries. Major domestic energy producers plan to achieve zero emissions in the next 15-20 years. The same applies to cars. As we can see, it is important to share the Polish experience of sustainable urban development and smart city technologies with our municipalities and the local real estate sector. Moreover, as Georgia moves towards European integration we have a responsibility to implement a sustainable construction policy aimed at maintaining and improving the environment,” adds Property Georgia co-founder and managing partner Kate Tabatadze.
Guest experts from Poland and Georgia spoke about the role of green and smart technologies in urban development, and shared valuable insights and experiences of the two countries’ cities with the audience. Afterwards, company and municipality representatives had the opportunity to meet the Polish participants in B2B / B2G format.
According to the organisers, the content and format of this event constitutes another outstanding example of private-public cooperation, which will continue in the future in the form of various meetings.