Georgian Economy Minister highlights Govt’s projects to be implemented over next 4 years

Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Thursday highlighted projects the Government aimed to accomplish in the next four years, focusing on energy projects for increasing the country's generation capacity.

At a meeting in the Government Administration, Davitashvili emphasised Georgia’s potential in renewable energy, saying “thanks to [the Government’s] active policy we saw significant interest from investors and continue active work for attracting even more investments in renewable sources such as hydropower, wind and solar”.

“We have been making significant investments to improve transmission infrastructure which is also a pull factor for attracting investors. The transmission infrastructure’s connectivity with neighbouring countries and, importantly, with the European Union, makes our energy system more appealing”, the Minister said.

Referring to planned hydroelectric projects, Davitashvili noted the demand for electricity would “increase significantly” in the coming years due to high economic growth, however, the Government's ambitious goal of “energy sector will not only fully satisfy domestic consumption in terms of increased demand but we will [even] have export potential” by 2030.

He also commented on the Khudoni Hydropower Plant project, which the state bought back and subsequently decided to relocate due to the resistance of local residents, stressing the project would move forward with the “active participation and support of the community”.

Davitashvili reviewed the Nenskra HPP project, which he said was “being delayed by the difficulties of South Korean state company”, an investor in the project, however, he added it was “crucial for the Government to maintain partnership if they have potential to realise the project”, despite “our willingness to get results faster”.

He also spoke about the Namakhvani HPP project, stressing it was “regrettable that the project could not be carried out in the past, though its implementation remained crucial”.

The Economy Minister also addressed projects related to transport and logistics infrastructure development, particularly the Anaklia deep sea port in the country’s Black Sea town, saying “the public has already seen progress on the construction of the port” and the Government was implementing the project “consistently, with maximum responsibility, taking into account the country’s interests to the fullest extent”.

The Minister expressed confidence the planned Kulevi oil refinery on the Black Sea coast would be the “central link in the establishment of an oil refining and petrochemical production cluster” in the area.

“It is very important to assess the advantage of our geographic location as Georgia is at the crossroads of significant energy routes and serves as an energy transit country. Oil and petroleum products are exported through Georgia from various countries”, Davitashvili noted, calling Georgia a “gateway through which oil from oil-producing countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus is exported westward and also, oil products enter through the Poti and Batumi ports”.

He also highlighted the current investments in important public infrastructure aimed at enhancing connectivity and logistics potential, including the modernisation of the railway, the construction of high-speed highways and other projects in the aviation sector.

“Intensive work is underway on the development of Georgia's airports, including the expansion of Kutaisi [International] Airport and the development of an entirely new airport cluster in Vaziani”, the Minister said, adding Kutaisi International Airport aimed to increase its capacity to five million passengers in the coming years, while the Vaziani project was planned to serve from 18 to 19 million passengers.