Inguri River

Enguri in Svaneti

The Enguri (Georgian ენგური; Abkhaz Егры / Egry; Russian Ингури / Inguri ) is a river in western Georgia. It is 213 km long, is in its lower reaches the borders with Abkhazia and plays an important role in the energy supply of the country.

The river originates in the Greater Caucasus near the highest mountain in Georgia, the Shkhara, initially winds through the mountain valleys to the northwest, and fed back to the southwest and near Zugdidi to flow into the Black Sea.

The Enguri forms seit 14 May 1994, the ceasefire line between Georgia and Abkhazia. The area has since been demilitarized and was monitored by termination of the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia until mid-2009. The only legal transition is built by German prisoners of war from 1944 to 1948, 870 meters long Enguri Bridge. In addition, there are various illegal ferry across the river.

The river plays an important role in the Georgian energy supply. 1988 Enguri dam was operated at an altitude of 240 meters above sea level in operation. With 750 meters wide and 271.5 meters, this is the largest building in the Caucasus. The storage volume of the storage space is 1.1 billion cubic meters of water. The associated underground Enguri hydroelectric power plant produces about 4.5 billion kilowatt- hours, corresponding to around 40 % of Georgia's electricity production. The output of the plant is 1300 megawatts.