Georgia to be the leader of power transmission line under the Black Sea project, Minister of Economy says
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Levan Davitashvili after the end of a government session said that Georgia will be an active implementer and manager of the project of the power transmission line under the Black Sea.
According to the Minister, there is already an active plan and technical and economic studies are being conducted by an Italian international company with the co-financing of the World Bank.
The Minister of Economy said that the initiator of the mentioned project was Georgia and Georgia will be the 'main guiding force' and 'leader in the implementation of the project'.
"The state finances this project with a loan taken from the World Bank, and World Bank experts are also actively involved in this project. The next stages will also be financed by Georgia, and there is a readiness of our Ministry of Finance and specific negotiations with the World Bank so that the next practical research works, which will be carried out in the sea, will also be conducted by Georgia. Georgia will be the main guiding force and leader in the implementation of the project.
When we talk about this new flagship project - the power transmission line under the Black Sea, Georgia was the initiator and the author of the idea. Georgia submitted this project to the list of economic and investment projects of the Eastern Partnership. Georgia has started technical and economic studies, Georgia has started financing these works in a proactive mode.
After that, various partner countries also joined. Recently, a very important international agreement was signed with the participation of the Prime Minister, where 4 countries will be involved, including two EU countries.
At the initial stage, there was not so much interest, the project presented by us was not seen as relevant, however, the geopolitical situation has changed a lot, including in the European Union, therefore, this project is of special importance. This year, there is a very active involvement and enthusiasm of the leaders of the European Union regarding the implementation of this project.
After the signing of the agreement, the project will already have a different status - it will be a project that is a subject of mutual interest. When two EU countries are involved in the implementation of the project, it will have a special status from the EU side.
Also, listen to the statements of the EU commissioners regarding the fact that there is no problem with the necessary finances for the implementation of this project, on the contrary, the EU itself is ready to mobilize several billion financial resources. The project, which was presented by the Government of Georgia, was developed for years and was uniquely our initiative.
Today, this is a flagship project in terms of relations and connectivity with Europe - perhaps, without too much modesty, it can be said that this is the project of the century, which will increase Georgia's energy independence and also increase the importance of our country's relationship with the European Union from an economic point of view," Davitashvili stated.
