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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EU and EBRD support issue of US$80 million green bond on Georgia’s capital market
The European Union and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have announced the first winner who will receive a grant through their capital market support programme.
Georgia Renewable Power Operations’s (GRPO) US$ 80 million green secured bond will become the largest transaction, as well as the first ever green bond issued on Georgia’s capital market.
The company will receive a contribution from the European Union to co-finance issuance related fees, and the support mechanism will be implemented by the EBRD.
“I believe the programme will catalyze green and sustainable bond issuances in the country and incentivise renewable energy developers to align with high Environmental, Social and Governance standards. We are extremely proud to be pioneers in this regard and to contribute towards the development of the Georgian renewable energy sector,” said Nuka Mshvidobadze, GRPO’s chief financial officer.
The EU-funded Capital Market Support Programme aims to facilitate capital market development in Georgia, through the implementation of educational activities as well as the support mechanism.
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EBRD President to visit Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia
The President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Odile Renault-Basso, will tour the Caucasus next week, from 12 to 16 September, to meet senior government officials and business clients and partners. She will first visit Azerbaijan, then Georgia, before finishing in Armenia.
This is her first in-person visit to the region since assuming office in late 2020.
Prior to her departure, the EBRD President held virtual meetings with a diverse group of Azerbaijani, Georgian and Armenian civil society representatives.
In Baku, in addition to important meetings, the EBRD President will sign the agreement for the Bank’s second Green City project in Azerbaijan and launch a joint project with AzPromo, the national investment promotion agency, aimed at stimulating the telecommunications, media and technology sector in the country.
In Tbilisi, Odile Renault-Basso will hold different meetings and sign loan agreements with long-standing partners in the financial and healthcare sectors.
The EBRD President will conclude her trip in Yerevan, where she will meet Armenia’s political leadership and the EBRD’s partners. Renaud-Basso will also visit the Centre for Creative Technologies (TUMO), where she will meet leaders of Armenia’s hi-tech sector, and attend celebrations for the 15th anniversary of the EBRD-supported Investment Council of Armenia.
“I am very much looking forward to visiting the Caucasus, where the Bank has achieved some remarkable results during its 30 years of operation. Despite its size, the region remains an important investment destination for us, one where we have already invested more than €10 billion,” said Renaud-Basso prior to her visit.
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Chernobyl: EBRD says it will need at least €100 million to repair the damage caused by Russia
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is calling on international donors to help repair the damage to the Chernobyl nuclear plant caused by Russia’s reckless actions.
The bank, which has been at the forefront of efforts to rebuild Chernobyl, says it will need at least €100 million to do so.
“Russia’s military occupation of Chernobyl has thrown into uncertainty decades of international cooperation in helping make safe the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident,” says the EBRD.
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Chernobyl events putting at risk decades of efforts to secure nuclear site – EBRD
"Team Europe" global response to COVID-19: Council welcomes the mobilisation of almost €36 billion and approves conclusions
The European Council approved conclusions on the "Team Europe" package that is part of the EU's global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In its conclusions the Council expresses its deep concern about the global spread of the COVID‑19 pandemic, which continues to claim lives worldwide and have far-reaching social and economic effects.
The Council stresses the urgency of protecting the lives and livelihoods of all people, leaving no-one behind, and of prioritising efforts in partner countries that are most in need. In light of that the Council fully supports the "Team Europe" approach and welcomes the announcement that almost 36 billion euro have now been mobilised and will be used to address the devastating effects of the COVID-19 crisis in partner countries and regions.
The "Team Europe" package was launched on 8 April 2020 to support EU partner countries in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences. The financial support initially pledged was around 20 billion euro and combined resources from the EU, its member states, and financial institutions, in particular the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
EU4Business in Georgia: Training opportunity for business consultants
Business consultants in Georgia have until 24 September to apply for a four-day EU4Business training course on ‘Change Management for Consultants’.
The course will take place in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi over two modules, on 27–28 September and 8–9 November. It will provide consultants with the tools, methodologies and processes to deliver high-quality projects on time, within budget and with minimal risk.
The course is aimed at experienced consultants with at least five years’ experience in the field of management consulting (in areas such as IT, implementation of production systems, strategic management, human resources, etc.).
Participants will learn change management skills to meet the demands of complex clients with large-scale projects.
More information on eligibility criteria and how to apply can be found here. (http://eu4business.eu/events/change-management-training-business-consultants-tbilisi)
This training course is part of the ‘Advice for small businesses’ programme implemented by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and supported by the EU under the EU4Business initiative.
New blue buses will operate in Tbilisi from September
New blue buses will operate in Tbilisi from September, 2016. The agreement was signed between the Man Truck and Bus AG Company and Georgian side. German company has been selected as a tender winner company. The tender is carried by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
European Bank has allocated a loan of 27 million EUR to Tbilisi Municipality for acquisition of buses, while the additional grant of 7 million has been allocated by fund E5P, under the management of EBRD.
