European Investment Bank offers over €250m to Georgia

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is offering €250 million to help improve regional connectivity and road transport efficiency in Georgia.

Georgia’s Finance Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili signed the financial agreement with the EIB today in Georgia’s Black Sea town of Batumi at the 14th Batumi International Conference – ‘Georgia's European Way’.

As part of the financing, 253 km major and secondary roads will be constructed and rehabilitated in Georgia.

Meanwhile, the EIB offered an additional €3.5 million to contribute to the development of Georgia’s energy sector.

In particular, the money will be spent on the rehabilitation of Georgia’s Vardnili and Enguri hydropower plants.

The project is the last phase of the rehabilitation of the Enguri-Vardnili hydro power cascade. The EIB has already contributed to the project with €20 million, while with today's agreement the Bank has added €3.5 million to the project that aims to ensure the safe release of the water when the upstream Enguri dam is working at full capacity.

As a result of the final phase, production capacity is predicted to increase by approximately 200GWh per year.