Asian Development Bank: Georgia should become regional cargo hub

Asian Development Bank (ADB) sees "great potential” in Georgia’s future and believes the country could become a regional hub.

At today’s Tbilisi Silk Road Forum ADB director of Transport and Communications Division Xiaohong Yang addressed the mass crowd and claimed Georgia had the potential to become a regional cargo hub, but the country needed to take make the most of this opportunity.

We do not consider Georgia as only a transit corridor. Georgia has a huge potential in manufacturing,” said Yang, while delivering his speech at the Forum.

We are ready to help the Georgian Government to research the market to find out who the global producers are,” he added.

Meanwhile, earlier this year the ADB provided a $75 million USD loan to Georgia to help the Government implement reforms to increase savings and better use its internal resources. The funds were also being used to bolster Georgia’s investment potential and avoid unequal distribution of income.

The loan will also contribute to developing the pension system in Georgia. At the same time, small and medium-sized business will see an increase in capital access "especially for those enterprises which are run by women”, said the ADB.