Georgia Lists Tskaltubo Spas For Sale With $24 Million Repair Mandate

The Georgian government has listed ten Soviet-era sanatoriums in Tskaltubo for sale, setting a total financial obligation of $27.3 million for the flagship Medea property. The state listed the assets on October 20, and the online auction closes on November 15. Bidders face a purchase price of $3.3 million for Medea, plus a required $24 million investment over five years to renovate the site into a facility with at least 120 guest rooms, conference halls, and restaurants.

The other nine sanatoriums carry similar terms, with starting bids ranging from $1 million to $3.5 million and mandatory renovation pledges. Tskaltubo was a popular destination during the Soviet period, attracting visitors from Moscow with trains that stopped in the town for its warm, mildly radioactive mineral baths. The Medea sanatorium, recognizable for its neoclassical arches, remains the most prominent structure in the complex.

Frederic Le Fichoux, a commercial real estate expert who helped prepare a 2020 feasibility study on the town, warned that the financial conditions reflect a deeper issue. He noted that restoring individual buildings may not succeed if the town's wider infrastructure remains neglected. "If you are one investor and you buy, you renovate that property that you bought, you turn it around," he said, "but then the rest of the destination is still kept as a ruin." Le Fichoux argued that development requires public funding for roads and access alongside private investment in the buildings.

The state has previously attempted to sell these assets. Seven sanatoriums were sold in earlier auctions, but three have since returned to state ownership. Medea was taken back in 2024 after its buyer failed to meet unspecified contractual obligations. David Sichinava, a Canada-based academic who grew up in the area, described the redevelopment strategy as an "all or nothing" approach. He noted that Tskaltubo is exempt from casino permit fees, which can cost up to $1.9 million annually elsewhere in Georgia, suggesting the town relies on more than just therapeutic baths to attract tourists.

The properties gained national attention in October 2019 when Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia's wealthiest man, promised to buy and rehabilitate the state-owned spas. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated on October 20 that the plan was abandoned due to the pandemic and what he described as de facto sanctions against Ivanishvili. Since the 1990s, the buildings have housed people displaced by the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Sichinava estimates that only 100 to 200 displaced residents still live in the structures.

Madonna Mushkudiani, who moved into one of the buildings after fleeing Abkhazia in 1992, was relocated to an apartment in 2023. She recalled poor conditions in the partly derelict structure but said she still visits former neighbors. "We miss every minute we spent there. It was our second home," she said.