EIB offers €100 million loan to rehabilitate Kutaisi’s water supply

More than 200,000 inhabitants of Georgia’s second largest city will soon enjoy a clean, reliable water supply thanks to a €100 million loan by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to rehabilitate the city’s water system.

The loan was part of the Bank’s pledge to step up its support for Georgia to "help improve the lives of Georgians”.

The EIB allocated a loan of €100 million to rehabilitate and extend the municipal sewerage system and construct a mechanical biological wastewater treatment plant in Kutaisi.

Water and sanitary infrastructure is high on the EIB’s agenda in Georgia, in line with the Government’s priorities. We have already financed a number of projects in this sector across the country and this is another loan with a major environmental and health dimension,” said EIB Vice President Laszlo Baranyai, who was among the honourable guests attending the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum this week.

The total cost of the water rehabilitation project, which would address water supply and wastewater investments in several municipalities in western Georgia, reached €280 million. This would be co-financed by the Asian Development Bank (€172 million) and supported with grants from the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (€4.75 million) and the Eastern Partnership Technical Assistance Trust Fund (€3.25 million).

Kutaisi is a city that plays a very important role in Georgia’s political and economic life. As of today the city does not have a proper water supply system. With the support of EIB we will solve this problem in Kutaisi,” said Georgia’s Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri.

The United Water Supply Company of Georgia will carry out the project.

EIB supports SMEs in Georgia

While participating in the October 15-16 Tbilisi Silk Road Forum the EIB pledged to increase its support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Georgia. The Bank provided €15 million to its partner financial institution in Georgia – ProCredit Bank – to finance projects promoted by SMEs and middle capitalisation companies.

The competitiveness of the Georgian economy hinges, among others, on access to finance for productive investment. The EIB will provide such funding. This will have a positive impact on job creation and the living standards of the people of Georgia,” said Baranyai.

EIB Vice President on Tbilisi Silk Road Forum

The EIB official participated in the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum’s welcoming panel, where he spoke about the importance of restoring the Silk Road route.

The Silk Road is famous for the world for over 2,000 years. We know this is a road that connects different countries. At the beginning the caravans were loaded with cargo because at that time there were no cars, planes or trains. Now we know the world has become more global and the pace of life has increased,” said Baranyai.

We are implementing several multimillion dollar projects in Armenia and are working on recovering the Georgia-Armenia connecting highway. This would contribute to restoring the Silk Road as well,” he added.

This EIB signed loans worth €548 million in Georgia since it started operating here in 2010. Some €165 million – or 30 percent of the total volume – has been dedicated to SMEs and middle capitalisation companies.