Page 38 - GEORptMay19.pdf

9.1.2 Automotive sector news
Georgia’s Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze on April 8 stated that a factory to produce electric vehicles will be built in Kutaisi. The plant will be developed in partnership with China’s Chang’an automaker, and will be used as an export platform for European market.
The capacity of the factory is going to be 40,000 cars per year, 50% of which will be intended for the domestic market and 20,000 will be exported to the EU. "This is a great success. Electric cars manufactured in Georgia will be the main export product on the European market from Georgia. We will make 4 models of electric cars, which will be affordable for all citizens of Georgia”, the PM said.
The country will be able to sell electric cars from 2020.
Kutaisi, a city in west Georgia, is one of the most interesting and beautiful cities in Georgia. It was the capital of Georgia in the middle ages. Kutaisi served as the legislative capital of the country in 2012-2018.
Chang'an is considered to be one of the "Big Four" Chinese automakers. With an output of 3 million units in 2016 it ranked fourth among China's automakers by production volume. The comp[any designs, develops, manufactures, and sells passenger cars under the Chang'an brand and commercial vehicles sold under the Chana brand. It operates joint ventures with Ford (Changan Ford), Groupe PSA (Changan PSA), Mazda (Changan Mazda) and Suzuki (Changan Suzuki) which produce foreign branded passenger cars for the Chinese market.
9.1.3 Transport sector news
Georgia’s airports served a total of 1,014,732 passengers in January-March (Q1, including regular or charter flights), 21% more compared to the same period of 2018, according to the United Airports of Georgia, a department of the Ministry of Economy.
The number of passengers increased in all three main airports of the country: Tbilisi Shota Rustaveli International Airport, Batumi Aleksandre Kartveli International Airport and Kutaisi David Aghmashenebeli International Airport. In March, Tbilisi International Airport served 314,065 passengers which was 8% more compared to the same period of last year. In January-March, the passenger traffic in the airport increased by 11% to 804,673.
The two smaller airports saw faster growth rates. Kutaisi International Airport served 156,784 passengers in Q1, up 101% y/y. Batumi International Airport served 51,916 passengers in Q1, up 41% y/y.
The European Commission and the World Bank have announced the development of a new Indicative trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Investment Action Plan. It identifies priority projects in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. Georgia will receive €3.5bn of the programme’s €13bn, Georgia Today reported , quoting government officials.
“This is an important decision since Georgia’s integration into European structures is the main priority of our foreign policy... We welcome this move,” the Georgia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs David Zalkaliani stated
The programme is aimed at covering almost 100 projects involving investments of almost €13bn by 2030. It foresee a total of 4,800 kilometres of road and rail, six ports, and 11 logistics centres.
The agreement on the maps extending the TEN-T to the Eastern partnership
38 GEORGIA Country Report May 2019 www.intellinews.com