Finance Ministry Links Reduced Economic Growth to Construction Regulations
By Tea Mariamidze
Tuesday, July 31
Deputy Finance Minister of Georgia Nikoloz Gagua says that reduced economic growth in June 2018 is linked with the tightened regulations for the construction companies, adding they slowed down the tempo of constructions in the capital.
“The slowdown in the construction sector influenced the country’s economic growth, which corresponds to our expectations after the introduction of new regulations from the beginning of the year, which is related to our new policy aimed at establishing new ecological standards in the sector,” he stated.
Gagua explained that 4% growth in June is less than the economic growth in May, 7.5%, but he said that according to the Georgian National Statistics Office (Geostat), the average estimated real gross domestic product (GDP) growth equaled 6% in the second quarter of 2018 and 5.7% in January-June 2018.
“The economic growth rate of 2018 is significantly higher compared to last year's figure of 5.5%, which emphasizes the positive dynamics in the economy. One of the main contributors to this positive dynamic is the export sector,” Gagua said, adding that export will continue growing.
According to Gagua, one of the main contributors to the economic growth of the country is tourism.
Geostat stated that in June 2018 the estimated real GDP growth, compared to the same period of the previous year, continued observed in the following activities: Transport, Hotels and Restaurants, Financial intermediation and Trade.
As for the May statistics, GDP growth rate in May 2018 amounted to 7.5 % while the average estimated real GDP growth equaled 6.1% in January-May 2018.
In May 2018, the estimated real growth, compared to the same period of the previous year, was posted in the following activities: Transport, Manufacturing, Trade, Financial Intermediation, Hotels, and Restaurants.
