Economic growth in February was 8.8%; for the first time, our economy exceeded 100 billion GEL, which is an important indicator. This is one of the determining factors for the development of the country, and in the future, special attention will be paid to economic development, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said at the government meeting.
The head of government noted that in 2021-2025, the difference in Georgia’s economy with Moldova’s economy increased by $14 billion, which means that the difference between the countries’ budgets will exceed $ 3.5 billion.
The Prime Minister talked about the process of writing off fines and salaries for energy companies and said that in total, 157 companies were forgiven 1 billion GEL fines.
“Some of the companies refused to take advantage of the offer. As a result, 535 megawatt projects will be stopped, but the implementation of the 1560 megawatt project will continue. “Of course, this decision of the Georgian government will give a new impetus to the development of the energy sector,” said Irakli Kobakhidze.
The Prime Minister at today’s meeting of the Government focused his attention on the 2026-2028 work plan of Georgian Railways, which says the purchase of 50 new locomotives, 1,500 new wagons, and the installation of modern railway systems are planned. As a result, the annual index of passenger transfers will increase from 2 million to 5 million.
By the decision of the government, the rehabilitation of the historical train of Borjom-Bakuriani, so-called “Kukushki”, will be carried out, which will serve passengers from January 2027. In addition, Tbilisi-Kutaisi and Tbilisi-Akhaltsikhi directions will be added to the railway. The rehabilitation of the Tbilisi-Batumi railway will be completed in August, resulting in the reduction of travel time from 5.5 hours to 4 hours.
The Prime Minister also spoke at the session about the optimization implemented in “Georgian Post”, which resulted in the company closing last year with a loss of 7 million GEL, and will go to profit for the first time, and will become a profitable state-owned company.
By the decision of the Georgian Government, based on the agency “Produce in Georgia,” the Georgian Economic Development Corporation will be established, and it will implement the merging of several, including the function of the Georgian Development Fund. According to the Prime Minister’s estimates, the private sector will have increased access to finance, and companies will have access to cheaper loans. In addition, an investment agency will be formed as an independent agency in the Ministry of Economy, which will actively work to attract new foreign investments to Georgia.
The Prime Minister also paid attention to the infrastructure development of the Anaklia port at today’s meeting of the government. According to the head of the government, the contract for the deepening of the Anaklia deepwater harbor and setting up the wavebreak, whose initial cost was 203.9 million dollars, was reviewed, as well as the contract signed with the supervising company, which resulted in a reduction of the project’s cost by 52.5 million dollars.
“In the coming days, the construction process in Anaklia will be actively renewed with much reduced costs. The Georgian government accepts the responsibility that all infrastructure projects will be implemented as cost-effectively as possible, with minimum budget expenditure,” noted Irakli Kobakhidze.
The Prime Minister also thanked the Infrastructure Minister at today’s government meeting for exceeding the Ministry’s first quarter plan of the current year by 107 per cent.
The Prime Minister noted at the meeting that, in view of the objective interests of business and the possible impact of specific regulations on consumer prices, the government’s decision to implement the regulation of beverage production in plastic bottles will be postponed until February 1, 2031.
