€20 million project to make 25 Tbilisi schools energy efficient

Twenty-five public schools in Georgia’s capital will be renovated to become more energy efficient thanks to €20 million in financial support from two international financial institutions.

Today Georgia’s Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri and Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) representative Vitomir Miles Raguz signed an agreement to finance the project 'Reconstruction – Rehabilitation of Public Schools in Tbilisi and Increasing Energy Efficiency'.

Through the project it's estimated Georgia's energy consumption will reduce 40 percent.

The agreement stated Georgia will receive €20 million; of which the CEB will offer a €14 million sovereign loan while the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environmental Partnership (E5P) will allocate a capital grant of €6 million.

We are very pleased to be able to blend our loan funds with the E5P grant and assist the Georgian authorities in their objective to introduce energy efficiency into social sector infrastructure, in line with European best practices,” said Raguz, Principal Country Manager at the CEB.

Vitomir Miles Raguz of the Council of Europe Development Bank (L) and Georgia’s Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri signed an agreement on the loan today. Photo by Ministry of Finance's press office.  

It was estimated that at least 15,000 school children will benefit directly from planned improvements, which will create a more comfortable and safer learning environment. 

Georgia’s Finance Minister said this was the first CEB and the second E5P project to be implemented in Georgia's public sector.

The E5P grant of €6 million was crucial for the project to happen and we thank the E5P and all its contributors for their support in implementation of high priority projects. We are keen to promote high environmental standards in our country including implementing measures to become more energy efficient,” said Khaduri.

The E5P is a multi-donor fund managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).