Page 48 - GEORptMar20

Georgia and elsewhere."
"The scale of this attack is something we haven't seen before," Prof Alan Woodward, cyber-security expert at Surrey University in the UK, said at the time of the Georgia attack, according to the BBC.
Hackers targeted websites of the presidential administration, common courts, city halls and city councils of Batumi, Kutaisi and Kareli and two non-governmental organisations—Media Development Foundation and Society and Banks—as well as internet portals of a number of media outlets (guriismoambe.com, topnews.com.ge, saqinform.ge and trialeti.ge) including the national broadcaster.
The homepages of the hacked websites were replaced with a photo showing Georgia’s ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili with the caption “I’ll Be Back.”
A number of other countries joined the UK and US in condemning the Russian cyberattack against Georgia, including the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden.
During the brief 2008 Russian-Georgian conflict, Georgia accused Moscow of carrying out cyber-attacks against its government, but Russia denied it was the case. The conflict is believed to be the first time one country has targeted another with simultaneous military and cyber assaults in a war scenario.
9.1.9 ​Renewable energy sector news
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is allocating €10mn for the reconstruction of Georgia’s Enguri Hydro Power Plant (HPP).
The EBRD had already allocated €28mn in 2018 for the reconstruction of the power plant but then it was discovered that an additional €10mn was needed for the project, said Deputy Finance Minister Giorgi Kakauridze. This brings the total EBRD loan for the HPP's reconstruction to €38mn.
The loan interest rate is 1% and the payment of the principal of the loan will start after eight years grace period.
Kakauridze said that construction work started last year and €6mn has already been spent.
LSE-listed Georgian holding Georgia Capital, the largest shareholder in the Bank of Georgia and Georgia Healthcare Group, has announced that it has received permits to develop two wind farms with an installed capacity of 108MW.​ At present, Georgia has a sole wind farm, with a capacity of 21MW, It was purchased by the holding from the state last November
The government has approved the concept for the group's renewable energy business's Wind Power Plant (WPP) projects near Tbilisi and Kaspi, Georgia Capital announced on January 13.
The approval represents a significant milestone in obtaining Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) from the state, and these are expected to be finalised in the near future, according to Georgia Capital press release.
The Tbilisi and Kaspi wind farms are expected to have an average capacity factor within the 35%-40% range. Both projects are to be constructed in parallel with an expected commissioning date in the second half of 2022. Georgia’s first wind farm, Qartli Wind Farm was developed by the state with financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Wind farms with 350 MW of installed capacity will be built in Georgia by 2021, according to Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Davit Tvalabeishvili, as ​quoted​ ​by Business Media.
48​ GEORGIA Country Report​ March 2020 ​​www.intellinews.com