Georgia, World Bank sign deal for highway construction in winemaking Kakheti province
The €97.7 mln deal will finance the construction of road junctions, bridges, freeways and overpasses, underpasses, and roadside sections along with the highway, the Finance Ministry said. Photo: Georgian Finance Ministry
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An agreement on the construction of a 17-km, four-lane, access-controlled highway in eastern Georgia’s winemaking region of Kakheti was signed between the Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili and the World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, Sebastian Molineus, earlier today.
The €97.7 mln deal will finance the construction of road junctions, bridges, freeways and overpasses, underpasses, and roadside sections along with the highway, the Finance Ministry said.
Approved by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors last week, the Kakheti Connectivity Improvement Project will seek to increase traffic volume in Kakheti, make the distance between the province and Georgia’s capital Tbilisi “shorter and safer”, and improve the region’s potential for agriculture and tourism.
The construction will be implemented by the Georgian Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure with the involvement of the state Department of Roads.
Lasha Khutsishvili, the Georgian Finance Minister, and Sebastian Molineus, the World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, signed a €358,500 million agreement for the Human Capital Programme for Georgia on Wednesday.
The impact of the ongoing hostilities in Ukraine on the economic development across the world, on the South Caucasus region and Georgia was discussed during a meeting between Maciej Czura, the Head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Regional Representation for the South Caucasus, and Lasha Khutsishvili, the Georgian Finance Minister, on Thursday.
World Bank will allocate $400 million for the Human Capital Programme for Georgia, calling it “the largest cross-sectorial investment” for the country over 30 years of partnership.
World Bank will finance the $109 million construction project for a 17-km, four-lane, access-controlled highway in the Eastern Georgia’s winemaking region of Kakheti to facilitate connection between the province and the capital Tbilisi as part of the country’s highway network.
Questions of cooperation between the International Finance Corporation and Georgia, and the IFC’s decision to increase its portfolio for Georgia in support of the private sector in the country were discussed during a meeting between Lasha Khutsishvili, the Georgian Finance Minister, and Damien Shiels, the Acting Regional Director of the IFC on Wednesday.
Current macroeconomic parameters of Georgia, the impact of the global pandemic on the country, and trends of economic recovery were discussed by Lasha Khutsishvili, the Georgian Finance Minister, and World Bank officials on Wednesday.
Lasha Khutsishvili, the Finance Minister of Georgia, has met representatives of international financial companies and corporations at the ongoing Spring Meetings forum of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund in Washington.
The World Bank is “ready to provide assistance” to Georgia during the “difficult” period involving challenges created by the financial impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sebastian Molineus, the Bank’s Regional Director for the South Caucasus, said on Wednesday.
The Nordic Environment Finance Corporation, an international finance institution working on green transition, has allocated €6.5 million to Georgia in support of energy efficiency in the country’s mountainous regions, the Georgian Finance Ministry announced on Wednesday.
Georgian finance minister Lasha Khutsishvili has discussed cooperation between Georgia and international financial institutions as part of his ongoing visit to the United States for annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group.
Travel time from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi to the central part of the country’s eastern Kakheti region will be reduced to one hour and 20 minutes thanks to a new highway that is due to become operational over the next two years, the ministry of infrastructure announced on Thursday.
A 16.6 km road between the village of Bakurtsikhe and the town of Tsnori in eastern Georgia’s Kakheti region will improve transport infrastructure for Alazani lowlands villages, the roads department of Georgia announced on Wednesday.