Page 24 - GEORptDec17

2017 and 2020. The project will improve road safety and connectivity in Georgia and the South Caucasus, given that Georgia's East West Highway is part of the Trans-European Transport Network.
Furthermore, the EIB will increase its funding to rehabilitate one of the largest hydropower plants in the world, the Vardnili-Enguri cascade, by €3.5mn to a total of €23.5mn, the lender said.
After the signing ceremony, Kumsishvili said: “The financial and technical support that we receive from Europe on a daily basis is very important for us. All these steps should ultimately be directed towards rapid completion of infrastructure development in our country that will strengthen Georgia’s transit potential and simplify transportation inside the country.”
The EIB has worked with Georgia for over a decade, during which time it has financed projects worth €1.5bn, many of them in infrastructure and urban development.
6.2 Debt
Georgia - Gross external debt
3Q15 4Q15 1Q16 2Q16 3Q16 4Q16 1Q17 2Q17
Gross external debt ($ mn)
14,567.18 15,072.04 14,756.04 15,206.00 15,536.52 15,679.52 15,796.77 16,416.51
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Gross external debt (% GDP)
36.8 32.46 32.53 33.92 35.38 41.28 41.6
/
source: CEIC, World Bank
The gross external debt of Georgia increased to $16,416.51mn in the second quarter of 2017 from $15,796.77mn in the first quarter. External debt averaged $11,157mn from 2007-2017, according to the National Bank of Georgia. Gross external debt include both public sector (general government, public corporations and national bank) and private sector (banking and other sectors) external debt.
Georgia’s government debt is expected to inflate to 3.5% of GDP in 2017-2019, in part due to the depreciation of the Georgian lari and the high level of dollarisation of Georgia's external debt. External government debt is expected to peak at 43% of GDP in 2018.
The country's high current account deficit, which reached 13.3% of GDP at end-2016, is one of the important sources of external debt.
24 GEORGIA Country Report December 2017 www.intellinews.com