Asian Development Bank enhances its support for Georgia

Mestia (Georgia's mountain region Svaneti) water supply project (funded by the ADB) during construction works in 2013. Photo by Gia Chkhatarashvili/ADB
Agenda.ge, 02 Feb 2016 - 14:26, Tbilisi,Georgia

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is enhancing its support for Georgia to fasten implementation of infrastructure projects, foster sustainable growth and strengthen regional connectivity.

Today, Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili welcomed ADB Country Director for Georgia Yesim Elhan-Kayalar to his office.

The two officials discussed ways to develop the capital market and implement the pension system in Georgia.

At the end of last year the ADB official met Georgia’s Economy Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili and discussed the ongoing projects that were financed by the ADB in Georgia. The parties agreed on continuing fruitful cooperation in the future.

At the October 2015 meeting Elhan-Kayalar said the Bank had a strong relationship with the small Caucasian nation and it pledged to deepen the already strong relationship and further support the country as it worked towards its Euro-Atlantic integration goals.

Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili welcomed ADB Country Director for Georgia Yesim Elhan-Kayalar to his office. Photo by the PM's press office.

Over the years the ADB has provided support for Georgia in a range of directions including road rehabilitation and construction, energy sector development, water supply and sanitation infrastructure and service delivery, public sector management, private sector development, financial sector deepening and financial inclusion, good governance, gender equality and knowledge solutions.

The strategic thrust of the ADB Country Operations Business Plan (COBP) covering 2015–2017 was consistent with the Georgian Government’s Socio-economic Development Strategy of Georgia. The COBP will support the Government to:

  • Improve internal and regional market connectivity to enhance private sector competitiveness and to broaden community access to economic opportunities;
  • Make essential drinking water, sewerage and sanitation services more accessible and reliable, particularly in smaller towns and secondary cities that are potential hubs for agribusiness and tourism;
  • Improve the security and stability of power systems, especially for communities in lagging regions;
  • Strengthen public sector management for domestic resource mobilisation and investment in business and infrastructure; and
  • Increase access to finance and promote financial inclusion, particularly for micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Georgia became a member of ADB in 2007. Since then the Bank has approved sovereign and non-sovereign loans to the amount of $1.4 billion USD.

The total active ADB portfolio in Georgia (ongoing projects financed through loans and grants) is approximately $870 million and includes projects in roads, municipal and urban infrastructure, water and wastewater, the energy sector as well as non-sovereign loans to local banks for on-lending to SMEs.

The total firm lending proposed for Georgia in 2015–2017 amounted to $516 million. An estimated $8.2 million in Technical Assistance (TA) grants during 2015–2017 will support project preparation, capacity development and policy advice.

More than 42 percent of TA grant funding was allocated for project preparation, while the remaining part supported policy reform and capacity development in infrastructure planning, public–private partnerships, financial sector development, public sector management and operationalising knowledge management.

Last year ADB approved a $75 million program to assist the Government’s reforms on resource utilisation, and issued the first Georgian Lari-denominated bonds, raising 100 million GEL to support the development of the Georgian capital market and small businesses.

* All $ currencies are in USD.