At least 3 billion USD is expected to be invested in the energy sector, Georgian Prime Minister stated at today’s Government meeting.

“Another issue I would like to discuss concerns our promise. As you know, the ongoing war in Ukraine and crisis have once again brought to the fore the difficulties facing countries and states. This is energy security and energy independence. Of course, Georgia has considerable resources, especially hydro resources, and these resources require maximally prudent use and utilization. This is our key priority, and it is in this direction that we have been working actively over the past few months.

We have had consultations with the International Monetary Fund, among others, and it is safe to state that the scheme, which we are about to present, is already coordinated with them. It will become official in a matter of days. In other words, here is what we mean by this new offer and scheme. As you know, the so-called guaranteed procurement scheme has been put on hold for several years, and memoranda have been issued for HPPs with a combined capacity of about 800 megawatts. However, although some have even started constructing, these contracts have not been signed yet. This is one issue. The other issue is that the fate of new projects has also been obscure, and investors in general needed more clarity.

Consequently, the new scheme is as follows: the state’s support for energy projects for power plants in the course of 15 years after commissioning based on contracts for difference (CDF). This is what the scheme that we will offer to investors stands for. This new support scheme envisages support, through auctioning, for power plants with a combined capacity of 1,500 megawatts over the next three years. This, of course, does not apply to the 800 megawatts I mentioned earlier, nor does it apply to such large projects as Namakhvani, Nenskra, and Khudoni.

In other words, by supporting the construction of this 1,500-megawatt capacity alone, we expect 2.2 billion USD in investments. Add to that 800-megawatt projects and the large projects that we will additionally discuss later. Thus, it is plausible to assert that, over the next three years, at least 3 billion USD is expected to be invested in the energy sector, provided that all listed projects are signed and set in motion. It is a very important decision because, on one hand, we are bringing in clarity and, on the other, we announce it as our key priority, and investors will enjoy support, of course. Also, I would like to state that, given our double-digit economic growth-we have been increasing it by 10% over the past two years-generation is lagging behind growth. Naturally, consumption is growing, and all this will bring about difficulties in the course of a few years, unless we start building new HPPs. This is extremely important, dear friends, and I would like to say that our main task must be the rational, prudent use of the country’s resources, especially since this is renewable energy, ecologically clean, and it calls for greater support, of course”, - said Irakli Garibashvili.