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23 stations. Ridership surpassed 100mn in 2016. Some 1.12mn people live within the administrative area of Tbilisi.
The airports of Georgia served a total of 3,915,352 passengers in January-September, a 23% increase year on year according to the Union of Airports of Georgia quoted by Georgia Today. In 2017, the number of passengers soared by 43% y/y to 4.065mn.
Eurocontrol forecast a 7% increase in aircraft flying to and from Georgia this year, according to data cited by the country’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili in May, following a 15% hike last year. Actual performance by far exceeed Eurocontrol’s projections.
A growth in the number of passengers was observed at all three international airports in Georgia.
The Kutaisi International airport saw above-average growth of 39% y/y (and 63% y/y in September alone) to 450,386 passengers in January-September. The new terminal at Kutaisi will be opened in early 2019 and will be able to serve three times more passengers than the airport handles now.
The rise at the country’s largest airport Tbilisi International Airport was only 21% (+5% y/y in September) to 2,951,250 passengers: some 75% of the country’s total. Last year, the airport’s market share was nearly 78%. Traffic at Tbilisi international airport soared to nearly 3.2mn in 2017, up from only 0.62mn a decade ago.
The second-largest airport, Batumi International Airport, posted below-average growth as well (+20% y/y) in the first three quarters of the year, reaching 513,716 passengers.
9.1.4   Infrastructure and construction sector news
Georgia infrastructure projects rollout lags behind schedule
Georgia’s regional development and infrastructure ministry managed to spend only GEL627mn of GEL1bn earmarked for the first three-quarters of the year, deputy minister Mzia Giorgobiani said on October 10, as quoted   by IPN.
The financing from international institutions was secured and all procedures were completed, but there were problems the tenders, he reportedly added. For the whole year, the ministry was earmarked a total budget of GEL1.8bn, or some 4.5% of Georgian GDP.
Despite the problems outlined by Giorgobiani, new projects are being launched. The construction of six new cable installations at the Gudauri ski resort was announced by the economy ministry,  reported  IPN.The ski slopes’ area will increase by 20%.
More infrastructure investment is needed in mountainous areas of Georgia to allow for tourism development, Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze said during a visit to the resort of Beshumi (altitude 2,000 metres) in the Ajara region back on August 5. Many of Georgia’s summer and winter resorts are unprepared when it comes to coping with the growing number of tourists visiting the South Caucasus country, Bakhtadze observed on August 29.
Georgia reported 6.9mn international visitor arrivals in 2017, up 20.2% from the previous year, according to state statistics office Geostat. A further increase is expected this year. The country’s profile as a tourist destination is reaching new heights and Georgia is also served by a growing number of airlines, including budget carriers.
The Infrastructural Development Strategy of Georgia for 2017-2020 envisages the implementation of 2,500 major modernising infrastructure projects worth GEL10bn. They include building a 1,000-km road, providing water supplies for
44  GEORGIA Country Report   November 2018    www.intellinews.com


































































































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