Friday, August 17, 2007, #157 (1424)

Business Roundup

Wissol Georgia opens gas station in Sachkhere
On August 18 Wissol Petroleum Georgia will launch its first service station in Sachkhere, Imereti province. By the end of August another Wissol service station will appear in Batumi as well. There are two Wissol service stations operating in Adjara province.
The company owns more than 90 licenses, with 52 service stations up and running. 28 are in Tbilisi, and the company says further chain development is underway.
"On average we spend about USD 600 000 on the development of each service station. More than ten new stations are added to our network every year. We use mostly Western, modern technology. Many of our suppliers have already established offices in Georgia and they provide after-sales services on a local basis," Samson Pkhakadze, chair of the Wissol Board of Directors said.
In July, Wissol opened a service station in Kurta, the seat of the Tbilisi-backed temporary administrative unit for South Ossetia.

KazTransGaz to invest USD 100 million in Tbilisi gas distribution system
Kazakhstani state company KazTransGaz will invest USD 100 million in the Tbilisi gas distribution system rehabilitation instead of the previously planned USD 80 million. Serik Sultangaliev, director general of the company, said an investment program has been redesigned and will be finished by 2009 rather than 2011, as previously planned.
Investments will be used to repair underground communications and install polyethylene pipes. Repairs are scheduled to launch from September. The total length of Tbilisi gas distribution network is up to 2 420 km.
KazTransGaz bought Tbilisi gas distributing company KazTransGaz-Tbilisi in 2006.

Agricultural exhibition to open in Bulgaria on August 28
The Ministry of Agriculture reported that an agricultural exhibition will be held in the Bulgarian city of Dobrich on August 28. The annual exhibition will span five days and play host to agricultural companies and their products. The cost of participation for companies at the exhibition is EUR 44 for a square meter of exhibition space.

Arveladze praises companies bidding for Poti Port
Minister of Economic Development Giorgi Arveladze praised companies who made bids for Poti Port, calling them "very serious and world-leading companies."
The deadline for the submission of bids for the 49-year lease of Poti port is October 15.
The port will be leased with an adjacent 400 hectares of land to create a free economic zone.
The port can handle 25 million tons of cargo a year.

Tbilisi Water Company for sale
Tbilisi's water distribution company, currently owned by the city municipality, is to be privatized.
The deadline for the submission of bids is September 20.
According to the Ministry of Economic Development, the Mtskheta water supply system, Gardabani sewerage cleaning system and Zhinvali hydropower plant are also up for sale. The water reservoir in Zhinvali is also used to supply the capital with potable water.

ADB lends USD 25 million to Georgian small businesses
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is extending a USD 25 million loan to Bank of Georgia, which will be used to open credit lines for Georgia's small and medium sized enterprises.
This is ADB's first transaction in Georgia since the country joined the bank as a member in February 2007.
ADB also aims to support Georgia's emerging banking sector, Pamela Bracey, an investment specialist with ADB's private sector operations department, said.
ADB hopes to foster Bank of Georgia's small and medium sized enterprises financing operations, which should help expand the sector as a whole.


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