Tkvarcheli (district)

Tkvarcheli District ტყვარჩელის რაიონი Тҟәарчал араион Ткварчелский район
District
Mountains of the Tkvarcheli district
Location of Tkvarcheli District in Abkhazia
Country	Georgia
De facto state	Abkhazia
Capital	Tkvarcheli
Government
• Governor	Aida Chachkhalia
Population (2011)
• Total	16,012
Time zone	MSK (UTC+3)

Tkvarcheli District (Georgian: ტყვარჩელის რაიონი, Abkhaz: Тҟәарчал араион, Russian: Ткварчелский район) is a district of the Republic of Abkhazia. It has no equivalent Georgian district, as it was newly formed in 1995 from parts of Ochamchira District and Gali District, centered on its eponymous capital, Tkvarcheli. The population of the district was 14,477 at the time of the 2003 census. By the 2011 census, it had increased to 16,012. Of note is Bedia Cathedral located within the district.

At the time of the 2011 census, the population of the district was 16,012. The ethnic composition of the population was as follows:

The coal-mining carried out by the Turkish Tamsaş company is the district's main industry and source of income as Tamsaş's tax payments account for 75% of its budget. The company was criticised for neglecting environmental requirements. Construction of a new cement plant is planned now, its output to be used for the Olympic construction projects in Sochi.

Valeri Kharchilava was reappointed as Administration Head on 10 May 2001 following the March 2001 local elections.

On 27 March 2003, Kharchilava announced at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers that he wanted to resign. On 31 March 2003, First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Daur Arshba was appointed the new Administration Head.

On 22 March 2005, newly elected President Sergei Bagapsh dismissed Daur Arshba and appointed Timur Gogua in his stead. On 23 February 2007, before the local elections, President Bagapsh temporarily prolonged Timur Gogua's tenure as Head of the District Administration. After Gogua was re-elected to the District Assembly, he was permanently re-appointed on 21 March.