KFAED extends $27 million loan to Georgia

A loan agreement was signed yesterday by Georgia and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), whereby the Fund will extend a loan of KD 8 million (about $27 million) for the financing of Batumi -Akhaltsikhe.

The project aims at supporting economic and social development in Georgia, and specifically in the mountainous areas surrounding the road, by improving access to places of work and social services, facilitating the transport of products and goods to markets, improving access to touristic sites, the KFAED said in a press release.

It is also meant to increase crossborder transport, reduce pressure on alternate roads, in addition to other benefits resulting from improved transport efficiency and reduced economic transport cost and time for passengers and goods, including enhanced traffic safety under most weather conditions, it added.

The project consists of civil works for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the road section, and involves covering it with asphaltic concrete in accordance with sound engineering specifications, for a length of about 29 km, and width of 7.5 meters with shoulders of 1-2 meters, including traffic safety signage, furniture and markings, according to the release.

The works include the construction of concrete culverts and roadside channels for water drainage, reconstruction of four bridges, in addition to the construction of retaining walls in different locations to fortify the roadbed for an accumulative length of 14 km, it added.

The total cost of the project is estimated at about Georgian Lari (GEL) 93.3 million (about KD 12.5 million), about 47 percent of which in foreign currencies. The Kuwait Fund Loan will cover about 64 percent of the total estimated cost of the Project. The loan will be for a term of 25 years including a grace period of five years, and will be amortized in 40 semi-annual installments after the said grace period, it noted. — KUNA