Until 1947 Gardabani was known as Karayazi (Azerbaijani: Qarayazı) and the city status was granted in 1969, after a thermal power plant was built for Tbilisi in the 1960s causing rapid growth.

Karayazi was mainly populated by Azerbaijanis, who at the time were referred to as Tatars like other Turkic-speaking ethnic groups.

The region's name thus reflects its historical and cultural ties, influenced by Persian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian interactions over centuries.

It is situated on the Gardabani Plain (გარდაბნის ვაკე), a flat and expansive lowland area that stretches along the eastern part of the country, close to the border with Azerbaijan.

The region's climate is continental, with hot summers and mild winters, making it suitable for agricultural activities such as grain and vegetable farming.

[8] The Gardabani area, along with other parts of Georgia, saw a significant settlement of German immigrants in the late 19th century.

The German settlers who came to the Gardabani area were primarily Swabian Lutherans from the Württemberg region in southwestern Germany.

[16] The German settlers brought with them advanced agricultural techniques, which helped to develop the fertile plains of Gardabani.

After the Assyrian genocide in 1915, survivors from the Anatolian region of Bohtan fled to the Russian Empire via Yerevan and eventually, after the revolutions and wars of that period, settled ina few villages in the Azerbaijan SSR.

The Assyrians who had been deported from the Azerbaijan town Ağstafa were not allowed to return by its residents, so they ended up in Gardabani.

Since then, more plants have been built, and currently the site hosts several gas- and coal-fired power stations that are responsible for almost all thermal electricity production in Georgia.

[20] Since 2012, a further step-by-step investment in the country's energy independence was launched with the construction of new combined cycle power plants in Gardabani.

Presidents Mikheil Saakashvili (Georgia), Ilham Aliyev (Azerbaijan) and Ahmet Sezer (Turkey) attended the inauguration.