Page 43 - GEOGRptJun19

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
Through January-April 2019 passenger traffic at Georgia’s airports increased by 20% to 1,208,422 passengers, according to United Airports of Georgia under the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development. The growth rate was 23% in 2018.
Georgia’s ski slopes, eco-tourism facilities and Black Sea resorts are visited by a rising number of tourists, with a positive impact on the country’s current account balance.
In April, Tbilisi International Airport served 331,523 passengers, some 12% more compared to the same period of last year (296,163). In January-April, passenger traffic at the airport increased by 11%.
Batumi airport saw over 36,532 passengers in April 2019, 16% more compared to the same period of 2018. The four-month data set also shows that the airport served 88,448 passengers 30% up year on year.
The rising passenger volumes are partly explained by the expansion of tourism supported by infrastructure work. For instance, Okatse waterfall, located in Kinchkha village in the Khoni Municipality of Imereti region in western Georgia, has opened for visitors following a renovation. Mamuka Bakhtadze, the Prime Minister of Georgia, visited the site when paying a visit to the village earlier this week.
"The new eco-tourism infrastructure at Okatse Waterfall will triple the number of tourists visiting this most beautiful destination," he said.
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
43 GEORGIA Country Report June 2019 www.intellinews.com