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can "play the role of a cargo hub" in this effort.
TAV Georgia, the operator of Tbilisi and Batumi International Airports, invested $2.5mn in the project, with the work carried out by the Georgian air navigation service provider Sakaeronavigatsia and TAV Georgia itself.
9.1.4 Automobile sector news
Georgia to spend $49mn on purchase of 44 new metro cars
Georgia increased re-export of cars to Kyrgyzstan
Georgia’s government plans to purchase 44 new metro cars for the capital Tbilisi’s metro system, at a cost of $49.2mn.
Tbilisi City Hall is working on the project with specialists from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
“Tbilisi Metro will have eight new metro cars by 2022, while the remaining 36 will be purchased by 2024,” Tbilisi City Hall said.
Guramishvili, Station Square, Sarajishvili, Marjanishvili, Freedom Square, 300 Aragveli, Rustaveli, Isani, Tsereteli, and Nadzaladevi metro stations will also be renovated with the support of the EBRD.
A contract for the renovation of Gotsiridze metro station was also reportedly signed with LTD Mamisoni on November 11. Renovations will be finished in about half a year.
In November, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a new €101mn loan for improving infrastructure in Georgia. Included in plans for this funding were upgrades to Tbilisi’s municipal metro system, possibly involving new metro cars among other measures.
Georgia increased its re-export value of cars shipped to Kyrgyzstan in 1H22, Trend reported on July 26, citing the Georgian National Statistical
Office. Re-export of cars from Georgia to Kyrgyzstan in the first six months of this year amounted to $8.7mn, representing an increase of 81.2% y/y. Georgia re-exported 1,525 cars to Kyrgyzstan, compared to 536 cars in 1H21. Meanwhile, the total value of Georgia's re-exported cars in 1H22 totalled $191mn, marking a decrease of 6.8% y/y (the figure was $205mn in 1H21).
9.1.5 Tourism sector news
Georgia reports the fastest recovery in the tourism sector in the region
Revenues from tourism running at record high in Georgia
The Georgian tourism sector and the country’s economy are “resistant to challenges” and have “one of the fastest” recovery rates in the region, said Irakli Nadareishvili, the Deputy Minister of Economy, at the opening ceremony of a 4-star hotel in the centre of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.
The minister underlined that the investment in the hotel project has amounted to $3.5mn and pointed out more than 40 people have already been employed, adding that some rooms have been adapted to the needs of persons with disabilities.
Nadareishvili said the hotel has been “another good example” that the Georgian tourism sector has been enjoying “growing interest” from both tourists and investors, while also highlighting the revenue from tourism in July, which exceeded the figures from 2019 by 20%. For the first time after the pandemic, the revenue from travel in January-July exceeded $1.6bn, constituting 87.4% of the figures for 2019.
In Georgia, revenues from international visitors are running at a record high in 2022. According to the National Bank of Georgia, the country received $476mn in income from international visitors in July, which is almost $270mn more y/y. Overall the country received more than $1.6bn of revenue from international visitors in the first seven months of 2022. In July only, 790,000
54 GEORGIA Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com