Georgian PM, Economic Council members discuss positive economic trends, infrastructure projects

Positive economic trends and the implementation of current and new infrastructure projects in Georgia were discussed on Tuesday in a meeting of the Government's Economic Council led by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, the Government Administration said.

The decreased inflation and the dynamics of budget performance were also reviewed, with the Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili noting that the annual inflation of consumer prices in July amounted to 0.3 percent and adding the state budget was executed with the excess in the last six months.

Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karselaze briefed the council on the progress of the infrastructure projects in the regions and said that the Ministry had implemented the state budget with a 13.5 percent excess. He also noted the construction of 203 km of highways was underway across the country, which would be opened gradually in 2023-2024 and added that up to 1800 km of internal state and local roads were also being rehabilitated.

Karseladze also said that water supply and drainage projects worth more than ₾3 billion (about $ 1.1 bln) were also underway in 167 locations and highlighted the construction of sports complexes and multi-purpose sports halls across the country.

The signing of a contract for the construction of 130 new kindergartens by the decision of the PM was highlighted at the meeting, with the officials also discussing the large-scale project of the construction and rehabilitation of 800 schools, for which ₾1 billion (about $380mln) will be allocated.

It was noted that within the first stage of the project, which ensures improvement of education and equal access to it for more than 230,000 students, the construction of 80 new schools and rehabilitation of 200 schools was already underway and the next stage of the project would start in 2024.

The meeting also highlighted the large economic projects, including the announcement of eight tenders for the development of 11 locations, selected in the first stage of the PM-initiated new five-year programme for the development of cities and resorts.

The conversation also touched on the positive trends in tourism, with the Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili noting that the income from travel in the first and second quarters of 2023 exceeded the figures of 2019, with a record performance - $1,804,529,935, being 123.9 percent recovery of the figure of 2019. He also said that travel income increased by 57.9 percent compared to 2022, with Georgia receiving $1.8 billion from international travel in the first and second quarters of this year.

At the meeting, the officials also discussed the possibilities of adding new air routes and increasing the intensity of flights with China, stressing it would contribute to the development of the tourism and aviation sectors in the country.