Adjara and Guria next destinations of PM’s regional tour

Adjara has significant potential, distinguished resources and the Government will support to the best of its ability all interesting projects implemented in this region – with these words Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili addressed the local business community at today’s opening of the new five-star Hilton Batumi Hotel.

The Georgian leader is in Adjara, continuing his regional tour of the country and discussing the economic potential of each destination. Adjara, he noted, had significant tourism potential.

This potential was about to be realised - Garibashvili announced several future projects, of which more than $1 billion USD (about 2.3 billion GEL) will be invested in the Adjara region.

These projects are:

• Rekan Group Georgia will invest $50 million USD in a new hotel;
• Orbi Group will invest 30 million GEL in a new hotel and apartment complex; and
• Yalchini will invest $9 million USD on a 100-bedroom hotel.

The PM’s nationwide tour is part of his promotion of the Governmental program ‘Strong Regions for Strong Georgia’.

Meanwhile, in Batumi today PM Garibashvili attended the official opening of the Hilton Batumi Hotel. In his speech he recalled all the hotels which had opened in Batumi since 2012.

These hotels were:

• Five-star Divan Suites Batumi;
• Batumi Apart Hotel in which $5 million USD was invested;
• Five-star Hilton Hotel, in which $137 million USD was invested; and
• Centro-Medi Hotel, where $2.5 million USD was invested.

"This year alone $366 million USD was invested in the Adjara region,” said Garibashvili.

"Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in 2014 increased by 81 percent compared to 2012 and amounted $276 million USD. FDI increased by 42 percent in 2014 compared to 2013 when FDI was $195 million USD. As for the total sum of future investment projects, it exceeds $1 billion USD,” said Garibashvili.

As well as developing the country’s hotel industry, Garibashvili recapped the Government’s work across a range of sectors, such as healthcare, roads, education, hydro power and agriculture industries.

On a similar note, Garibashvili visited Georgia’s Guria region a part of his ‘Strong Region for Strong Georgia' regional tour.

Guria’s agricultural sector had the most potential, followed by tourism, noted the PM.

He said the region’s seaside resorts like Ureki, Shekvetili and Grigoleti, as well as mountain resorts Bakhmaro and Gomsimta, were unique resources that could be developed to promote summer and winter tourism in the area.