EBRD to allocate €80 million for purchase of CNG buses in Tbilisi
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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will allocate €80 million to help Georgia purchase compressed natural gas (CNG) buses for Tbilisi, of which €65 million will be used for purchasing buses and €15 million for building a bus depot.
Photo: Ministry of Finance.
Compressed natural gas is a fuel that can be used in place of gasoline, diesel fuel and liquefied petroleum gas; CNG combustion produces fewer undesirable gases than the aforementioned fuels.
The agreement was signed today.
Photo: Ministry of Finance.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will also allocate €17 million to purchase approximately 175 gas-fired (CNG) buses for six major cities of Georgia (Rustavi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Telavi, Gori and Poti) to significantly improve public transport.
Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze says that the current fleet of mini-buses (marshutkas) in the capital must be replaced staring in 2020 and has instructed Deputy Mayor Irakli Khmaladze to start negotiations with Tbilisi Minibus, a private company operating the marshutkas, for the process to begin as soon as possible.
Tbilisi City Hall will purchase 100 more new buses in 2020, Mayor Kakha Kaladze said at a Tbilisi city government session today.
Sixty new Isuzu buses, purchased by Tbilisi Transport Company, have been presented by Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze earlier today, saying that remaining 160 buses will enter the capital city before the end of the year to replace outdated public transport.
Georgia’s coastal city of Batumi will be the first in the country to serve passengers with electric buses, as per an agreement signed between Batumi City Hall and the Belarussian electric car manufacturer Belkommunmash.
Tbilisi Minibus company, which has been operating a yellow mini bus fleet (marshutkas) in the capital city since 2011 has requested Tbilisi City Hall to allow the increase in current fare by 20-30 tetries for them to replace outdated vehicles and ensure better service.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is launching a new Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) programme in Georgia to develop energy efficiency in the country.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a €5 million loan to improve public transport and services in the Georgian popular ski resort of Bakuriani.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has allocated €90 million to finance the construction of 150 km long new transmission network and substations in Georgia and to strengthen the energy network in the country.
Batumi has become the first city in the South Caucasus where non-polluting, fully electric buses have been added to the transport fleet thanks to EU financial aid.