Page 44 - GEORptAug18

According to Kerry, they will comprise modern logistics and industrial parks, and will be fully integrated with rail and road connections to the infrastructure networks of Georgia and neighbouring countries.
Georgia has denied two Syrian airlines access to its airspace in retaliation for Damascus recognising the statehood of two Georgian breakaway regions last month, a senior aviation official told Reuters on June 28. One of the airlines, Cham Wings, was revealed by a investigation conducted by the news agency in April to have transported Russian private military contractors to take part in the fighting in Syria.
"I can confirm that Georgia's airspace is closed for two Syrian air companies: Syrian Air and Cham Wings," Gocha Mezvrishvili, head of the ex-Soviet country's Air Navigation Service, was quoted as saying late on Tuesday.
"It will be closed for any Syrian air companies ... We made this decision after Syria recognised our occupied regions."
In May, Damascus joined Russia in recognising Georgian breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states.
Switzerland-based rolling stock manufacturer Stadler has signed an agreement to build a new factory in Georgia. A memorandum of cooperation on the planned factory was signed by Stadler, Tbilisi Railway JSC and Tbilisi City Hall on June 22.
“We have concluded an agreement with Stadler, in the scope of this memorandum we will start negotiations, so we can build a factory which will be able to build and assemble Georgian subway railway carriages and cars, ” said Tbilisi mayor Kakha Kaladze.
“This is very important as we will establish new working places. Also, this is important in the transportation direction, as we are planning on introducing new buses and renovating subway cars. The capital will have new, modern, European style Stadler brand railway carriages. I am sure we will finally achieve agreement in this direction.”
The Swiss company already has experience in Georgia, having provided four double-decker Stadler KISS trans for the Tbilisi-Batumi route.
“Products produced in Georgia will be for local and regional markets,” Georgian Railways said in a statement . “ Building such a high-tech enterprise is of utmost importance to increase our export potential.”
9.2.3 Metallurgy & mining corporate news
Georgia’s Interior Ministry on July 16 said four miners were killed and six were injured when a methane explosion caused the roof of a tunnel in a coal mine to collapse. In a statement, it said that the accident occurred early on July 16 at the Mindeli mine in Tkibuli, about 200km west of the capital, Tbilisi. An investigation was launched to discover whether any safety standards had been breached, the ministry added. In April, an accident in the same mine k illed six miners and injured three. The mine is operated by Georgian company Sakhnakhshiri. In its statement on the April incident, Sakhnakhshiri said the cause was a shock effect triggered by a rock burst, a spontaneous rock fracture that is a common occurrence in mines.
The incident came after another miner died in a different mine in the Imereti region on March 26, and amidst a flurry of criticism levelled at mining companies for not abiding by environmental and worker safety standards. Rich Metals Group (RMG), a company registered in the Netherlands that operates a large gold and copper mining operation in Georgia, was in April
44 GEORGIA Country Report August 2018 www.intellinews.com