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USAID has started inviting investments in Georgian hydro-energy. Theproject was presented at the Courtyard Marriott hotel, Trend reports.Approximately $9 billion will be invested in the project. The projectis aiming at adding a renewable part of the energy system, namely anecologically clean 400 megawatt system. USAID said that the projectwill make Georgia energy-independent and it will sell energy to thegrowing Turkish and East European markets.
The head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, discussed the terms for Frenchcompanies GDF Suez and EdF to take part in the 'Nord Stream' and'South Stream' projects, RIA Novosti reports, citing a statement bythe Russian energy giant.
The 33rd World Wine Congress will be held in Tbilisi from June 22nd-27th, Interfax reports. Over 200 delegations from various countries have applied to participate. The guests will visit different regions of the country, vineyards and wine production equipment exhibitions. A tasting contest of the best Georgian wines will be organized.
Inal Pukhayev, the head of the administration of the Tskhinvali district of South Ossetia, says that the agricultural sector of the republic can be revived only with significant state support, IA "Res" reports. He says that the ten million rubles invested in the agriculture of the district by the state is useful for organizing farming, but is not enough.
The European Commission has approved the Georgian plan of actions for2010, and Tbilisi will receive 37 million euros, Georgia Onlinereports.According to the commission, the sum will be used for regionaldevelopment, the economic integration of Georgia into the EU, therealization of social protection programs and public financemanagement reforms.
The deputy director general of Iran's 'Tavanir' electric companyGolyam Reza Khoshkhalk declared that the construction of 20 powerplants has been handed to the private sector. He noted that Iran needsa surplus of 5 thousand megawatts annually, Iran News reports, citingIRIB News.Khoshkhalk noted that Iran has 24 million consumers of electricityusing 170 billion kilowatt per hour. The number of consumers rises by1.2 million annually.
The official opening ceremony of an Armenian-British businessmenchamber took place today. According to the chairman and founder of theArmenian-British union and member of the chamber's council, AykArutiunyan, they came up with the idea to open the chamber a year agoand it was realized in Yerevan. The chamber will boostArmenian-British economic and trade relations, as well asinternational investment programs in Armenia, he said, panarmenian.net
A meat processing plant will be built in Georgia using Iranian investments, the Georgian Minister of Agriculture Bakur Kvezereli said on a working visit to Iran, Business Georgia reports.He said that the sides are planning aiming at extending cooperation in agriculture and intensifying trade relations. In exchange for investments Iran expects lamb meat import.Iranian Minister of Agriculture Sadek Khaliliyan said that Iranian 75 million consumer market is open for Georgian products.
The deputy minister of oil and Director-General of the IranianNational Gas Company, Javad Ouji, said that the Board of Directors ofthe Iranian National Oil Company have ratified the contract onconstruction of the 'Mir' pipeline to export Iranian gas to Pakistan,priced at $7 billion, Iran News reports.A high-ranking delegation from the Pakistani Ministry of Oil andNatural Resources will arrive in Tehran for the signing.
26 billion rubles will be spent on the reconstruction of South Ossetia, Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin said at his meeting with Eduard Kokoyty, the president of South Ossetia.
A session devoted to the construction of a new cement plant has taken place today in Magas, Yuga.ru reports. The session was chaired by Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, the president of the republic.The main topic of the meeting with investors was elaboration of suggestions on the construction of the site. The sides agreed that specific investment plans would be put to the government in 30 days.
The total assets of Georgian commercial banks exceeded $4.8 billion on May 1st. According to Georgian National Banks it is $450 million more than last year’s indicator, Georgia Times reports.The total assets of the bank sector reached $873 million, or 17.8% of cumulative assets.Georgian commercial banks had a $5 million income in April and $13.7 million since the start of this year.
The world GDP after reducing by 2% in 2009 will rise by 3% this yearand by 3.1% in 2011. According to the new UN report on the worldeconomic state and prospects for 2010, the revival of the worldeconomy will be unstable and rapid and will not lead to the recoveryof the employment market.The head of UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Robert Vos,noted that current forecasts on the world economic development arebetter than six months ago. However, the unemployment level is stillrising around the world.
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Communications and InformationTechnologies (MCIT) has signed a general contract on the constructionof the first Azerbaijani telecommunication satellite, AzerSpace. Thecontract was signed by the director of the Center of InternationalConnections and Calculations of Jalil Jafarov and the vice-presidentof Orbital Sciences Corporation (USA) Michale Larkin, Turan reports.
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Communications and InformationTechnologies and Malaysian satellite operator MEASAT signed along-term contract in Istanbul today on renting an orbital positionfor the Azerbaijani satellite Azerspace, Trend reports citing theministry.
The Japanese company Aray Architects has won a tender to develop aproject to build the the hotel complex Intercontinental. According tothe head of the architectural group, Levon Vardanyan, the famousJapanese architect Aray Yokaza will work on the hotel project, ArmeniaToday reports.
Turkey will invest more than $400mln in the Kazakh economy, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, reports ITAR-TASS.
The contracts on construction of copper-smelting, copper refinery andenriching plants on Sungun mines (in East Azerbaijan) are planned tobe signed in September, Iran News reports citing IRNA.Director General of the Iranian copper smelting industry company,Ardashir Saadmohammadi, met the governor of East Azerbaijan province,noting that the contracts will most likely be signed with thecontractors. Realization of the projects will go ahead according toschedule.
Work on the Adler thermal power plant in Sochi has begun, Yuga.ru reports.The main building will become the dominant architectural structure ofthe power plant. The machine hall with steam turbines and the unitcontrol room will be in the main building. It will connect gasturbines with exhaust heat boilers.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will give an EURO 80 million loan toGeorgia for the extension and modernization of a high-voltage networkand uniting it with the electric network of Turkey, Trend reports,citing the bank's press-service.
