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• Georgia: EBRD to help improve solid waste management in Kobuleti and Batumi

  The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is committing new funds to address solid waste treatment issues in Batumi and the wider Adjara region in Georgia. A sovereign loan of up to €19 million for Adjara Waste Management Company will help tackle some of the most pressing environmental challenges faced by the tourist region’s inhabitants and visitors. 

  The first committed tranche of up to €3 million will be used to purchase new solid waste management equipment. This will enable the borrower to start new landfill operations and, consequently, stop waste being disposed of at the current non-European Union (EU) compliant dumpsites. The second uncommitted tranche of up to €16 million will be used to build a new waste treatment plant, allowing the company to recover recyclables and divert waste sent to the new sanitary landfill. 

  The investment will address the priority needs of Batumi and the wider Adjara region. This includes stopping the disposal of waste at existing dumpsites in Kobuleti and Batumi, with the latter being the largest and most dangerous polluter in Georgia. “These dumpsites are active sources of land, water and air pollution, impacting the ecosystem of the region in particular, and the Black Sea in general,” says EBRD. 

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  Press release

• H.E. Lasha Khutsishvili, Minister of Finance of Georgia Meets IMF Mission

  H.E. Lasha Khutsishvili, Minister of Finance of Georgia met Subir Lall, Deputy Director of Middle East and Central Asia Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and James John, IMF Mission Chief today, along with other mission members.
  Discussion was focused on the cooperation of Georgia and IMF, as well as the implementation of reforms envisaged in the 3-year program supported by the IMF.
  Dignitaries reviewed the current economic stance of the country, once again highlighting that irrespective of the current challenges, Georgia achieved progress in terms of economic growth and improved fiscal parameters in the past two years. At the same time, significance of continued macroeconomic policies has been stressed.
  Meeting was attended by Giorgi Kakauridze and Ekaterine Guntsadze, Deputy Ministers of Finance; Selim Cakir, Resident Representative of the IMF in Georgia; Vakhtang Chalapeikrishvili, Department Head of Macroeconomic Analysis and Fiscal Policy Planning at the MOF and Shota Gunia, Department Head of Fiscal Risk Management at the MOF.

• Minister of Finance of Georgia met ADB Country Director

  H.E. Lasha Khutsishvili, Minister of Finance of Georgia met Shane Rosenthal, ADB Country Director in Georgia with Bruce Dunn, ADB Director of the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department and other officials of the ADB.

  Meeting was attended by Ekaterine Guntsadze, Deputy Minister of Finance of Georgia.

  Dignitaries discussed the bilateral and regional cooperation between Georgia and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

  ADB intends to update its Safeguard Policy Statement issued in 2009. It will be brought in compliance with the ADB Strategy for 2030 and its operational priority plans.

  Meeting held today was aimed at sharing information on the updated policy approaches and directions between the stakeholders to make sure that every country of the ADB gets more effectively engaged in the process of discussion.

  Safeguard Policy Statement includes such themes as: assessment and management of environmental and social risks and impacts; labor and working conditions; pollution prevention and resource efficiency; health, safety and security; biodiversity and sustainable natural resource management; cultural heritage and others.

  As noted at the meeting, Georgia stands ready to actively cooperate and attune its position in all these directions.
• EBRD opens information technology hubs in Georgia and Azerbaijan

  Delighted to have launched IT Hubs in Azerbaijan and Georgia, where we are now supporting the training of 280 students for their future employment with international ICT companies.

  The programme will boost the regional development, supporting the youth, and in case of Georgia, internally displaced persons and refugees from Ukraine.

  For Azerbaijan, this is the first project to be funded through a bilateral donor agreement between the Bank and the Government of Azerbaijan.

  We are implementing this project in partnership with Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency and the Centre for Coordination and Analysis of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Azerbaijan.
• EBRD to support upgrade of up to 12 metro stations in Tbilisi

  The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide Tbilisi Transport Company with a  loan of up to €50.6 million for financing the upgrade of up to 12 metro stations.

  The agreement was signed on 17 January in the Georgian capital during a visit by Mark Bowman, vice President for Policy and Partnerships at the EBRD.

  The new loan is a continuation of a broader effort, some of which aims to encourage people to switch from private to public transport. Improved lighting and ventilation and more energy-efficient escalators will improve the daily journeys of Tbilisians, while an overhaul of drainage systems will make the network more resilient to climate change.  

  With a population of 1.2 million, Tbilisi was one of the first cities to join the EBRD’s flagship Green Cities programme, which supports members in addressing their environmental challenges through sustainable investments and policies. The city was also one of the first to develop a Green City Action Plan (GCAP). 

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  Press release