Georgian prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday said that his government is taking full responsibility for ensuring all national infrastructure projects are executed with maximum cost-efficiency and minimal budgetary expenditure. 

In his remarks, Kobakhidze highlighted that over the past few months, the government has undergone a rigorous optimisation process regarding state spending within existing contracts. A primary example of this fiscal discipline is the Anaklia deep sea port project. 

“Over the past few months, substantial optimisation of state expenditures has been carried out under existing contracts across multiple directions. Among others, we reviewed the contract related to dredging works and the construction of a breakwater for the Anaklia deep sea port. The initial value of the contract stood at $203.9 million. We also revised the agreement with the supervising company, resulting in a reduction of the project cost by more than 25% - or $52.5 million”, he said.

“As a result, construction works in Anaklia will actively resume in the coming days with significantly reduced costs. The Georgian government takes responsibility for ensuring that all infrastructure projects are carried out in the most cost-efficient manner, with minimal budgetary spending. I would like to thank the Minister of Economy and her team for saving $52.5 million for the state budget in this case”, the PM concluded.