Category Archives: Uncategorised

Georgia awards contract to build $2.5b Black Sea port to US-Georgian group

FEB. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia awarded a US-Georgian consortium the contract to build a $2.56b deepwater port at Anaklia on the Black Sea, a project that will bolster the country’s role as a major trade link between East and West.

The Georgian government chose the Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) over two separate bids submitted by China’s state-owned PowerChina and another by Russo- Georgian venture Anaklia Industrial Eco-Park.

ADC is a joint venture between Tbilisi-based TBC Holding and US- based Conti. Mamuka Khazaradze, chairman of TBC Bank, owns TBC Holding.

Kurt Conti, Conti CEO, said in a statement: “We are looking forward to breaking ground and working with the government of Georgia to help forge new paths from Asia to Europe as well as unlocking the economic potential of Georgia’s neighbours and landlocked nations in the Caucasus.”

For Georgia, the project underlines its role as transit country for goods flowing between Asia and Europe. It hosts oil and gas pipelines running from the Caspian Sea to Turkey, has developed its road and rail networks and wants to leverage its position on the Black Sea.

And the government, which has also pledged $100m to the project, said that the deepwater port was vital.

“This will create completely new opportunities for Georgia to make full use of the Silk Road and the South Caucasus transport corridor,” PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili told the press.

The plan will also transform Anakalia, a small town on the border with the breakaway region of Abkhazia.

The construction phase of the port will create an estimated 3,400 jobs, ADC told media, and a total of 6,400 people will be employed at the port when it is up and running.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Azerbaijan exports electricity

FEB. 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan sent its first consignment of electricity to Turkey, the start of what it hopes will become a significant export venture. The volume of electricity sent to Turkey measured 80MW and was transmitted through the Azerbaijan- Georgia-Turkey electricity network.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Tele2 merges with Kazakhstan’s Altel

FEB. 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Swedish telecoms company Tele2 said a deal to merge its operations in Kazakhstan with Altel, owned by KazakhTelecom, was close to completion. The deal was announced last November. The new company will be 51% owned by Altel and 49% by Tele2, although the voting rights will be reversed. It will have a market share of around 22%, behind Kcell and Beeline, the brand name of Russia’s Vimpelcom.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Georgian activist challenges gay marriage law

FEB. 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Giorgi Tatishvili, a Georgian gay rights activist, has filed a lawsuit challenging a law in Georgia which states that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, the Eurasianet website reported. Georgia is a staunchly conservative country and the Orthodox Church plays a major role in society. Mr Tatishvili’s lawsuit provides a potential litmus test for Georgian society over whether it wants to relax its strong traditional viewpoints.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Inflation jumps in Azerbaijan

FEB. 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Prices in Azerbaijan jumped by 5.8% in January compared to December, according to the national statistics committee. The statistics committee said food prices rose 8.7% last month. In December the Central Bank allowed the manat currency to float free against the US dollar. This triggered a 35% devaluation in its value, putting prices under enormous pressure to rise.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Turkmenistan increases security over TAPI

FEB. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Addressing a government meeting, Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov ordered his government to increase security over the planned TAPI pipeline that will, it is hoped, pump gas to India. Last month the Taliban destroyed a transmission line sending electricity between Uzbekistan and Kabul. For TAPI to be successful, it needs to be able to guarantee security around the route. Governments that border Afghanistan have been warning that a resurgent Taliban are posing an increasing threat to stability.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan dispute over border

FEB. 6 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) -The foreign ministries of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan traded angry notes after Kyrgyz soldiers appeared to raise their national flag over a disputed border area. International monitors have said that the two neighbours had been making decent progress towards thrashing out a solution to their long-running border row. The recent dispute, though, may have endangered this progress. Analysts have said that the Tajik-Kyrgyz border dispute has the potential to destabilise the region.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

GM Uzbekistan sales fall

FEB. 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – GM Uzbekistan sold 1,269 cars in Russia in January, down 37% on the same period in 2015, media reported quoting the Automobile Manufacturers Committee of the European Business Association which releases data on sales. Russia is GM Uzbekistan’s main market. GM Uzbekistan is important because it is one of the few relatively successful projects with Western business in Uzbekistan. Low oil prices have caused a recession in Russia which has impacted the rest of the region.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Volume of Turkish goods entering Kazakhstan rises tenfold

FEB. 10 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The volume of Turkish products entering Kazakhstan through Aktau, its main Caspian Sea port, has increased by 10 times since Russia imposed sanctions on Turkey in December, media reported quoting the Kazakh Chamber of Entrepreneurs .

Turkish producers appear to have targeted Central Asia as a decent market since Russia imposed sanctions after a Turkish warplane shot down a Russian warplane over Syria.

Products are sent to Azerbaijan, a strong Turkish ally, and then shipped over the Caspian to Aktau.

The row has put countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus in a difficult position as they need to maintain good ties with both neighbours. Russia has said it is monitoring Central Asia to make sure it is not used as a backdoor way for Turkish goods to enter the country.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

Turkmen President sacks deputy PM

FEB. 6 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked deputy PM Palvan Taganov for “weakening discipline and order”. The official explanation is code for corruption allegations. Mr Taganov had served in his post for two years and also headed the official commodity exchange. According to unconfirmed reports, Mr Taganov has been arrested.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)