Bombs destroyed under OSCE-supervised disarmament project in Georgia

TBILISI, 3 October 2003 - Demolition of dangerously unstable bombs under an OSCE project commenced this week at a former military airbase at Shiraki in Eastern Georgia.

It signals the next phase of the project for the "Recycling and Destruction of Stockpiles of Ammunition and Bombs on Former Military Bases in Georgia", which is being implemented by the Georgian Military Scientific and Technical Centre 'Delta' and supervised by the OSCE Mission to Georgia.

"We passed a milestone on Wednesday in the process which will free Georgia of the dangerous stockpiles of ammunition and bombs," said David Pirtskhalava, Vice General Director of Delta and manager of the project.

"When you consider what we are doing today was only an idea 12 months ago, we have come a long way. A lot of the credit must go to the OSCE for its ability to react quickly and take active measures for dealing with the threats posed by the existence of these stockpiles."

Up to 500 dangerously unstable bombs located at Shiraki Airbase will be destroyed over the coming months. The destruction process will then focus on bombs located at other bases throughout Georgia.

The project also includes dismantling and recycling various types of artillery ammunition at a new centre at Dedoplistskaro. The Centre was constructed during the first stage of the project and is now fully operational. Artillery ammunition has already been transported from other bases to the Centre for recycling. In 2004, it is planned to install equipment for extracting the explosive material (TNT) from artillery shells and bombs that are safe to handle.

The initial stage of this project was funded by the UK, Germany, Turkey, the Netherlands and Sweden. The current stage, which is due for completion in June 2004, is funded by Finland, Germany and the UK.