South Caucasus Infrastructure and new energy investment summit
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Friday, February 7
The first international exhibition of city infrastructure, regional development, and communal services was held at Expo Georgia on February 6. During the exhibition, the New Energy Summit was held by the Convention Ventures-Euroconventional Global-Belgium. The Ministries of Infrastructure and Energy supported both events. The events last from 6 to 7 of February.
The events were held for the first time in Georgia and various foreign companies from Azerbaijan, Germany, Japan, Russia, Greece, Armenia, Switzerland, Ukraine, and, of course, Georgia participated in them.
The major directions of the exhibition were: water pollution, collecting of remains and recycling, technologies for cleaning, exhaust control and environmental protection, urban infrastructure, security and disaster management, transport and traffic, and building and constructing technologies.
It should be noted that most of the companies were represented for the first time in Georgia. According to them, they are searching for local partners and want to deliver information to the public regarding their products and technologies.
200 representatives of organizations ranging from state structures to local businesses and foreign investors attended the summit.
The priorities of the summit were: urban environment and regional infrastructure development, modernization of transport infrastructure and logistics, project financing and consulting services, investing abilities in renewable energy, broadening of the renewable energy market and bordering energy infrastructure, renewing of water resources, collecting and recycling of remains, and cleaning technologies.
Energy and infrastructure development are named as priorities by a new government of Georgia. Minister of Energy, Kakhi Kaladze has stated that the construction of hydro electric power stations and other means for getting electricity is significant for state energy independence.
The Minister of Infrastructure stated that through the events, various companies had an opportunity to present their production, familiarize themselves with the local market, and represent their attitudes.
Various representatives of the summit spoke on their experience in related fields. Bertrand Goalou, urban development specialist, focused his attention on how to develop urban infrastructure and protect the environment at the same time. He stressed that professionally elaborated projects are of vital importance in this field.
Fabio Brau, manager of Salini-Impregilo Group, stated that the company is actively involved in infrastructure projects in Georgia. He expressed a wish to collaborate with his Georgian counterparts after the conclusion of his current projects.
