Page 22 - GEORptSep22

World Bank approves $509mn programmes for Georgia
uncertainty. Georgia’s economy has proven resilient in the past, and with the support of policies under the authorities’ programme, we expect growth to pick up in 2023 and other key indicators to strengthen as well," the IMF said previously.
According to the IMF, "to strengthen growth and make it more inclusive, the authorities’ structural reform priorities focus on education and training to tackle high unemployment and address labour market mismatches, and on upgrading the country’s infrastructure".
"Actions in these areas will improve the business environment, foster regional integration, and enhance the country’s potential as a transportation and logistics hub," the IMF concluded.
The World Bank approved a $400mn Human Capital Development Programme and a $109mn project to improve the Kakheti region's transport links with the capital and the country's highway network on March 23.
The bank said the $400mn funding is the largest multi-profile investment by the World Bank in its 30 years of partnership with Georgia. According to the World Bank, the Human Capital Programme aims to "improve the quality of life of all Georgian citizens through fair and equitable access to high-quality education, more focused social assistance and strong preventive health care, with reduced costs of treatment and medicines."
According to the bank, the programme will make a significant contribution to improving the efficiency of service delivery and will help to attract vulnerable populations to health, social protection and employment services. “The reforms are expected to improve social assistance coverage for poor families with children while improving training and providing job opportunities for the unemployed,” the bank said in a statement.
In addition, the programme will help the government reform healthcare procurement and pricing, increase efficiency and equity in the pharmaceutical market, and improve primary healthcare as well as in-patient care. The programme will contribute to the implementation of a "fundamental reform of the financing and organisation of the education system" and will help young people improve their skills and competencies.
According to the bank, the $109mn project will improve the transport links of the Kakheti region with the capital and the country's highway network. The project will finance the construction of a 17 km four-lane section of the highway between Sagarejo and Badiauri in the Tbilisi-Bakurtsikhe-Lagodekhi corridor, which will connect Kakheti with Tbilisi and other regions of the country. The bank's statement also says that in parallel, the Georgian government will build the first three sections of the corridor from Tbilisi to Sagarejo, and the remaining sections of the corridor between Badiauri and Lagodekhi will be built at the next stage, depending on the traffic intensity.
22 GEORGIA Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com