World Bank supports two new projects in Georgia moving country towards “greener, more resilient” development

Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili emphasised the “deep appreciation” of the World Bank’s support in “all key sectors” for the country and highlighted that the new project would contribute to the “long-lasting and successful cooperation” between the Bank and the country. He thanked the Bank for contributing to the development of Georgia and expressed hope to “further deepen” the “fruitful” cooperation. Photo via ituc-csi.org 

Agenda.ge, 25 Mar 2023 - 16:04, Tbilisi,Georgia

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved two new projects for Georgia to contribute to a “greener and more resilient” development of Georgia, the Bank announced on Friday.

Both newly approved projects, the $75 million Georgia Resilient Agriculture, Irrigation, and Land project and the $50 million First Green and Resilient Georgia Development Policy Operation programme will support the adoption of a new law on National Spatial Data Infrastructure, the introduction of a new tariff-setting methodology for irrigation water, and regulatory changes to facilitate e-Payments.

Georgia, like many other countries, is exposed to climate change and has an opportunity to step up its mitigation and adaptation efforts,” said Sebastian Molineus, the World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, noting the Bank would also support the country as “it embarks on its last mile structural reforms” to align state institutions to EU requirements.

Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili emphasised the “deep appreciation” of the World Bank’s support in “all key sectors” for the country and highlighted that the new project would contribute to the “long-lasting and successful cooperation” between the Bank and the country. He thanked the Bank for contributing to the development of Georgia and expressed hope to “further deepen” the “fruitful” cooperation.

On his part, Otar Shamugia, the Agriculture Minister, also hailed the approval of the GRAIL project and noted it would support the development of national irrigation and land management systems capacity, as well as bring benefits to farmers in Georgia. “GRAIL also supports the implementation of the Georgian Government’s vision on land sector development, as reflected in the 2021-2024 Toward Building a European State Programme, which considers land reform one of the top priorities for Georgia”, he added.

The GRAIL project includes the improvement of access to irrigation and drainage services, which aims to “boost agricultural production” in the country, with the farmers and agricultural enterprises becoming the primary beneficiaries of the project and the rural population also benefiting from “enhanced services”.

The second programme, First Green and Resilient Georgia DPO, aiming to reduce fiscal risks, will support Georgia in greening economic activity, mitigating fiscal risks, and building the institutional capacity for better access to land, water, and financial services, as well as promote enhanced governance of State-owned Enterprises and improvements in disaster risks financing.