Technical certification of vehicles most likely to be postponed
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Friday, October 3
The technical certification of vehicles in Georgia might be postponed for two years. The Economic Council addressed the government with the recommendation to launch the process from March 1, 2017 instead 2015.
The meeting of the Economic Council with Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili took place on October 1, where various transport-related issues were discussed.
The technical certification of vehicles in Georgia should have become mandatory from March 2015. Minister of Finance of Georgia Nodar Khaduri stressed on February 10, 2014 that the technical certification was not a budgetary project. Thus, according to him, the money that will be paid by the car owners would not go to the state budget.
Interior Minister Aleksandre Tchikaidze explained that 30-35% of car accidents are caused by faulty vehicles. He admits that the introduction of the certification will significantly decrease the number of accidents.
According to him, the annual fee for the car certification would not be more than GEL 48. The Ministry of Interior Affairs stated that the price will range from GEL 48 to GEL 102 based on the make and model of the vehicle.
An exact price will be specified by the company, which will carry out the certification process.
Officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs have announced that negotiations with the leading operator TUV Rheinland was underway and the group has already expressed their interest in entering Georgia.
There are 900,000 vehicles registered in Georgia currently. Lavrenti Alanaia, head of the Transport Professional Unions in Georgia, states that half of the cars in Georgia would fail the test due to their poor condition.
He states that the age of the cars will not be a decisive factor during the certification process, but the technical condition of the cars will be.
“Catalysts that filter exhaust, brakes, lights and some other important parts of the vehicle should be in order,” Alania stated, adding that more than 22 testing centers would be needed in Georgia to check the 900, 000 registered vehicles annually.
Deputy Minister of Economy Natia Mikeladze states that the technical certification of cars is one of the demands of the EU. She states that there are nearly 25 car-testing centers in Georgia currently. She hoped that foreign investors would be interested in putting money into the construction of such centers in Georgia.
The technical certification of cars was stopped ten years ago under the United National Movement Government. The reason was corruption in this field.
Some members of the opposition, like Giorgi Gugava from the Labor Party state that the certification of vehicles will presumably, be a source of corruption again and will cause additional expenses for people during the current economic hardship, as well as leaving people without a minimal income they have from their cars in the case their car fails the certification process.
