Page 46 - GEORptJul19

9.1.10 Utilities sector news
Georgia is to privatise its postal services run by Georgian Post, economy minister Giorgi Kobulia said in a Bloomberg interview, after which he explained the policy to local media .
The country’s railway transport company will be unbundled, its railway transport market will be opened up to private operators and the electricity system privatisation might resume, he also reportedly said.
The privatisation option was under consideration for the railway company Georgian Railway, but only after a company reorganisation including the unbundling of the railway infrastructure and transport functions, Kobulia added. As part of the railway transport system restructuring, the government wants to encourage more involvement of private railway operators, while the infrastructure management company would operate separately.
Georgia has to restructure its railway transport and electricity systems under the EU-Georgia Association Agreement. It must also implement EU directives on railway transport, which require the infrastructure segment to be segregated by 2022.
Similar restructuring plans are envisaged for the Georgian electricity distribution. Under the Association Agreement and the Energy Community Treaty, Georgia has to implement the Third Energy Package into its national legal framework.
"We need to increase the efficiency of these companies in order to privatise them," said Kobulia in relation to Georgian Railway and State Electrosystem. According to Kobulia, the plan is to eventually privatise State Electrosystem. Its selloff was suspended in 2011 in the face of "challenges" on the market.
9.2 Major corporate news 9.2.1 Transport corporate news
New carrier Armenia Airlines has received permission from Russian authorities for direct and regular Yerevan-Moscow-Yerevan flights, ArmenPress reported on June 26.
Deputy director of the airline Gevorg Khachatryan was cited as saying that the registration of a new Boeing 737-700 airplane to be used for the service was in process in Armenia. The aircraft was due to arrive in Armenia on July 8.
Two flights will be carried out daily. They will be synchronised with Yerevan-Tbilisi-Yerevan flights of a Georgian carrier partner of Armenia Airlines. Passengers of transit flights from Georgia will wait in Yerevan for 50 minutes before boarding the service to Russia.
Armenia Airlines last week launched operations with a Yerevan-Tehran service.
Earlier this week, three Armenian carriers were reported as saying they are ready to provide air transport between Russia and Georgia after Russian President Vladimir Putin banned Russian airlines from transporting Russian citizens to Georgia.
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.”
46 GEORGIA Country Report July 2019 www.intellinews.com