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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 500,000 people and solving problems with solid waste and landfills in the country.
Georgia and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a contract under which the international financial institution is extending a $300mn loan to the South Caucasian country for the construction of the 12.2-kilometre Rikoti-Zestaponi pass road, which will be part of the East-West Highway (EWH).
The document was signed on October 5 by Minister of Finance Ivane Machavariani and ADB regional director Ieshi Elhan Kaialar. The new road infrastructure will ensure efficient and safe driving, cut driving time and develop tourism business, the development bank said.
“Georgia’s geographic location puts the country at the heart of trading and logistics activities not only in Central Asia, but in the rest of Europe and Asia, which opens up a lot of growth opportunities for the economy,” said ADB senior transport specialist for Central and West Asia Valerie Lisack.
The EWH, an integral part of one of the six key corridors connecting member countries of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC), currently carries about 60% of Georgia’s foreign trade despite representing only about 2% of the country’s entire road network length.
The 410-km highway, which serves about 13,000 vehicles per day with a traffic growth rate of over 10% annually since 2005, is not only crucial for the connectivity of international trade between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, but also essential for Georgia’s global market access and socioeconomic development.
The ADB previously financed the construction of the Kobuleti and Batumi bypass roads and the reconstruction of Kvesheti-Kobi, together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the construction of the Dzirula-Kharagauli-Moliti-Pona-Chumateleti roads.
9.1.6 TMT sector news
The World Bank, in collaboration with the Georgian economy ministry, will develop a National Innovation Ecosystem in the country in order to foster the digital economy and innovative start-ups. The World Bank will finance the project, which is estimated to cost $40mn. Countries in the South Caucasus, including Georgia, have been seeking to develop their value-added
41 GEORGIA Country Report March 2019 www.intellinews.com