Page 49 - GEORptNov19

Bidding requirements mean the bidding company must have recorded a turnover of at least €30mn over the past three years. If the bidder is not a bus manufacturer but an auto dealer company, it must have delivered at least 600, 11-metre-long larger buses over the past three years.
In related news, on the same day the EBRD​ ​announced​ ​that Georgia is considering a loan from the development bank to boost its subway system in Tbilisi by purchasing 40 new metro cars, modernising a metro car depot and rehabilitating tunnels.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a ​Kommersant​ interview on September 25 that he supports the resumption of direct flights from Russia to Georgia.​ They were suspended in July in a diplomatic row between the two countries over anti-Moscow demonstrations and anti-Kremlin remarks made by a TV presenter.
“It seems to me that it would be right [to restore the flights] since the majority of the Georgian population have realised the counterproductive and provocative nature of the trick that took place in the Georgian parliament,” Lavrov said, according​ R​ euters​, ​referring to how the protests were sparked after word spread of a visiting Russian MP being invited to take the speaker’s chair in the parliament in Tbilisi.
The ban on passenger flights from Russia to Georgia triggered a wave of support on social media and in public media in favour of Georgia as a tourism destination. Russians intent on holidaying in the country or on visiting friends and relatives living there had to resort to road travel.
Losses to airlines resulting from the ban on direct flights between Russia and Georgia is estimated at RUB3bn ($47mn), Russian Transport Minister Yevgeny Ditrikh said on July 7, Tass reported.
The ban was introduced after​ ​mass protests outside the Georgian parliament​, triggered by reports that a Russian lawmaker was giving a speech from the speaker’s chair inside the legislature. At an emergency session of the Russian Security Council, Putin announced a temporary ban on flights to and from Georgia starting July 8, “to protect Russian citizens from violence or other illegal actions.”
9.1.4​ Aviation sector news
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a ​Kommersant​ interview on September 25 that he supports the resumption of direct flights from Russia to Georgia.​ They were suspended in July in a diplomatic row between the two countries over anti-Moscow demonstrations and anti-Kremlin remarks made by a TV presenter.
“It seems to me that it would be right [to restore the flights] since the majority of the Georgian population have realised the counterproductive and provocative nature of the trick that took place in the Georgian parliament,” Lavrov said, according​ R​ euters​, ​referring to how the protests were sparked after word spread of a visiting Russian MP being invited to take the speaker’s chair in the parliament in Tbilisi.
The ban on passenger flights from Russia to Georgia triggered a wave of support on social media and in public media in favour of Georgia as a tourism destination. Russians intent on holidaying in the country or on visiting friends and relatives living there had to resort to road travel.
Losses to airlines resulting from the ban on direct flights between Russia and Georgia is estimated at RUB3bn ($47mn), Russian Transport Minister Yevgeny Ditrikh said on July 7, Tass reported.
49​ GEORGIA Country Report​ November 2019 ​ ​www.intellinews.com