Economy Ministry building for sale via online auction

Investors are invited to go online and bid for a central city building that is currently being used by Georgia’s Ministry of Economy.

The building is selling for $6 million USD (13.8 million GEL) and the new owners must transform the building into a 100-room hotel.

Head of the National Agency of State Property of the Ministry of Economy, Ekaterine Sisauri, confirmed the central city Tbilisi building was being sold in an online auction. The auction officially started earlier today and will close on June 26, 2015 at 5pm.

Conditions of the sale state the buyer must transform the current facility into a 100-room hotel in a space of 36 months, from January 1, 2016.

"This property is located in the centre of the capital city in an active tourist zone. Three hundred meters away from the building are cinemas, museums. Also located in a half-kilometre radius are high-class hotels and other tourist attractions,” Sisauri said.

The total area of the building is 11,271sqm.

The Economy Ministry is currently working in the building. It is not clear where the Ministry will be relocated once the building is sold.

Meanwhile Georgia’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Giorgi Kvirikashvili hinted about the possible sale of Government buildings a few months ago when the idea of privatising state assets was raised as a way get more money into the economy to stop the national currency depreciating.

At the time he estimated money from the sale of Government buildings would bring about $300-350 million USD into the Georgian economy.

In February Kvirikashvili presented a list of assets that would be sold and privatised.

The list included:

• The Historical building of the National Bank of Georgia;
• The Ministry of Economy building;
• The former Bobokvati presidential residence in Adjara;
• The Tskneti Governmental residential buildings near Tbilisi;
• A thermal power plant; and
• The National Lottery Company.

Also named on the list was the Atoneli residence building however Minister Kvirikashvili expected this building would be difficult to sell.

"This building is very expensive; it was designed for high-ranking officials so it will be very difficult to sell the building for a reasonable price. It was put on the privatisation list, nevertheless,” he said.

Kvirikashvili said the Atoneli building privatisation issue was discussed with many investors, but nobody had offered a price that would cover the cost of the building’s construction. Kvirikashvili added it had not been discussed which agency could possibly relocate into the building if it failed to sell.