Tskaltubo buyers face $27 million repair bill for Soviet spas

Anyone bidding on the ten Soviet-era sanatoriums in Tskaltubo must prepare for a total investment of roughly $27.3 million for the flagship Medea property. The Georgian government listed these assets for sale on October 20. The online auction ends on November 15.

Tbilisi is asking for the equivalent of $3.3 million for the Medea sanatorium. The buyer must also commit $24 million to a five-year renovation. This work must deliver at least 120 guest rooms, conference halls, and restaurants. The other nine properties carry similar terms. Their starting prices range from $1 million to $3.5 million, with additional pledges for extensive repairs.

Frederic Le Fichoux, a commercial real estate expert who helped prepare a 2020 feasibility study for the town, notes that these conditions reflect a larger issue. He argues that restoring single buildings may not be enough to attract visitors. "If you are one investor and you buy, you renovate that property that you bought, you turn it around," Le Fichoux said, "but then the rest of the destination is still kept as a ruin." He believes development requires public funding for roads and private reinvestment.

The state has attempted these sales before. Seven sanatoriums were sold in earlier auctions, but three have returned to state ownership. Medea was taken back in 2024 after its previous buyer failed to meet contractual obligations.

David Sichinava, a Canada-based academic who grew up in Tskaltubo, describes the town's redevelopment as an "all or nothing" situation. He notes that Tskaltubo is exempt from casino permit fees that can reach $1.9 million a year elsewhere in Georgia. "Balneology (the science of therapeutic use of baths) alone can't really support the kind of tourists that this town can host," Sichinava said.

The town gained attention in October 2019 when Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia's wealthiest man, promised to buy the spas. He called their condition "depressing" and pledged a "full-scale rehabilitation." Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told media on October 20 that the plan was dropped due to the pandemic and "de facto sanctions" against Ivanishvili.

Since the 1990s, the sanatoriums housed people displaced by conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Most have moved out. Sichinava estimates 100 to 200 displaced people still live in the buildings. Madonna Mushkudiani moved into one in 1992 and was relocated in 2023. "We miss every minute we spent there. It was our second home," she said.