Page 36 - GEORptMay18

Tbilisi is home to a third of the population of Georgia. In addition to its residents, the city has seen an increasing number of foreign visitors and investors in recent years, all of which have put pressure on the existing infrastructure. City hall has been working closely with development partners like the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to improve services and infrastructure. In recent years, Tbilisi has moved to gradually replace i ts old fleet of buses and replace it with newer, cleaner buses running on compressed natural gas. The capital currently has 530 buses on its streets and new mayor Kakha Kaladze, who was voted into his position last year, wants to add another 730 to the fleet in the next four years, as well as extra wagons and trains to the metro system. Redesigning the public transport route will be completed by the end of next year and will cost €0.8mn, €0.5mn of which will be covered by a grant from the EU.
9.1.3 Construction sector news
More than half of the cement samples tested by the Georgian Cement Association in December failed to meet minimum quality standards, Georgia Today reported on March 8. There are 30 cement plants in Georgia, but no state agency that periodically controls the quality of the products. According to the Georgian Cement Association, manufacturers take advantage of this situation by using sub-standard components. In a recent test conducted by the association, 14 of 25 types of cement sampled failed to meet standards and another three barely met them. Furthermore, there has been an increase in sales of fake cement on the market, the report noted. Georgia is experiencing a construction boom fuelled by strong growth in retail, tourism and public infrastructure development plans. If the quality of the materials used in local construction projects is poor, the country could face the prospect of a large percentage of its buildings and infrastructure falling apart. Several large cement companies have called on the government to monitor production at cement factories, according to the report.
9.1.4 Tourism sector news
According to the Georgian National Tourism Agency (GNTA), 2017 saw a
record number of international visitors come to the country at nearly 7.6mn. That represents a 19% increase over 2016, which held the previous record. Importantly, every world region (as designated by the agency) saw double digit growth. The top visiting nationalities are mostly the ones one would expect – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Turkey – but there are a few surprises as well. Though China (over 21,000 visitors, enough for a respectable 54% jump) tends to get local and international attention for its burgeoning t ies with Georgia , it was India that sent some 60,000 visitors to Georgia last year, marking a 64% increase; Iran, long a healthy contributor to Georgian tourism, saw massive 118% growth in 2017 at 323,000 visitors; and Saudi Arabia, though starting from a lower base, saw an incredible 165% growth to more than 56,000 visitors. Clearly, Georgia is finding traction in that region as an attractive, affordable, and relatively nearby destination. The GNTA itself pegs tourism’s contributions to the economy at only 7%, and while the most recent country report from the World Tourism & Travel Council is more optimistic at 8.1% (2016), tourism is clearly not the strategic economic panacea that Georgia’s boosters hope it to be.
36 GEORGIA Country Report May 2018 www.intellinews.com