An apartment complex for the border guard forces of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and their families stationed in breakaway Abkhazia is being built in Sokhumi.

After completion later this year it will be the largest apartment complex built for the Russian border guards in Abkhazia, according to the January 18 report by Abkhaz news agency Apsnipress.

The complex, which is built by the Sochi-based construction firm, will include six apartment buildings and an administrative building.

Since signing an agreement with Sokhumi “on joint efforts in protecting Abkhaz state border” in April, 2009, Russia has built four settlements for its border guard units in the breakaway region.

The largest of them is located in the village of Otobaia in the predominantly ethnic Georgian populated Gali district not far from the administrative border. The settlement with an area of about five hectares involves four-storey apartment buildings with total of fifty flats for Russian border guards and their families.

Three other settlements are of smaller size; one is located in the villages of Pichori in Gali district; another one in Okumi in the Ochamchire district and the third one is in New Athos (Akhali Atoni).

At the time of signing of the agreement on border protection in 2009 Abkhaz officials reported that about 1,340 Russian border guards on top of Russian army troops would be stationed in the breakaway region.