Georgian PM highlights “ambitious” plans to boost national economy to $47.53bln over next 4 years

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday announced the Government’s “ambitious goals” of boosting the national economy to ₾130 billion ($47.53 billion) over the next four years, emphasising “positive” current trends he said were reflected in the 10 percent growth rate recorded between January and October.

He emphasised that even during the election month of October, economic activity had remained “robust”, achieving an 11 percent growth rate.

It means our economy is developing rapidly, and that we maintain the current pace and trend. By doing so, we aim to achieve our target of increasing the country's economy to at least ₾130 billion over the next four years. As a result, the national budget will also grow”, Kobakhidze said.

Last year's budget was ₾28 billion ($10.24bln), and in four years, we expect it to exceed ₾40 billion ($14.63bln). This increase will enable us to implement many more projects and care for our population, which is one of our main priorities”, he added.

Key initiatives in the Government’s programme also include creation of 200,000 new jobs, a target set against the backdrop of 170,000 jobs generated over the past 2.5 years. The Prime Minister said this effort was expected to reduce the unemployment rate below four percent,  “lower” than the European average.

While this goal is ambitious, it is entirely feasible and achievable. The average salary is projected to rise to ₾3,500 ($1,279.71) over the next four years. Currently, the average salary is already over ₾2,000 ($731.26)”, he said.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the Government’s goal to reduce poverty to four percent within the same timeframe, a target he said was  “ambitious yet attainable”. To achieve this, Kobakhidze stressed the importance of infrastructure development, including major projects like the one for the Anaklia deep sea port, road expansions, and railway modernisation.

It is essential to implement various projects to enhance our country’s connectivity. We have significant potential in this area, especially considering the ongoing global and regional events. Substantial investments are being implemented in infrastructure development”, the Prime Minister said.

We have ambitious plans, including the development of road infrastructure and the construction and expansion of airports, the Anaklia project, railway modernisation, and the Black Sea [submarine] cable project that will further contribute to the growth of our country's economy”, he added.

In addition to economic growth, Kobakhidze said the Government aimed to enhance the energy sector, with plans to increase power generation capacity to over 8,000 megawatts within four years.

These are ambitious but achievable goals”, Kobakhidze said, indicating that work on the projects had already commenced.

Today marks the first session of the new composition [...]  We have a clear plan and programme that was presented to both Parliament and the Georgian public, and it is our duty to effectively implement it within the next four years”, he said.

Kobakhidze congratulated members of the cabinet of ministers for “gaining the confidence of both the Georgian people and Parliament”. He emphasised the result carried a “significant responsibility” over the next four years, urging them to work “diligently” for the development of the country.