EU Commits €16 Million to Enhance Road Safety Along Georgia’s East-West Highway

EU Commits €16 Million to Enhance Road Safety Along Georgia’s East-West Highway

(IN BRIEF) The EU, represented by Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi and EIB President Werner Hoyer, has announced a €16 million grant through EIB Global to enhance road safety in Georgia along the East-West highway. The project aims to improve physical safety on the roads, provide engineering services, and raise awareness to reduce accidents. Additionally, it will strengthen Georgia’s trade links, economic growth, and transport connectivity along the trans-Caspian corridor.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 27-Oct-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — At the Global Gateway Forum, EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi and European Investment Bank (EIB) President Werner Hoyer formalised a financial package by which the European Commission will provide a grant of €16 million, through EIB Global, to improve road safety in Georgia along the country’s East-West highway.

The project will encompass improvements to physical safety on the roads, engineering services and awareness campaigns in order to decrease the number and severity of accidents. At the same time, enhanced safety on Georgia’s extended Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), which connects the country to Europe and certain local transport axes, will strengthen its trade links and economic growth.

The project also contributes significantly to improving transport connectivity along the trans-Caspian corridor linking Central Asia to Europe across the South Caucasus.

EIB President Werner Hoyer remarked, “As the EU Bank, the EIB has a long-standing cooperation with Georgia in transport connectivity projects, with an investment portfolio of around €1 billion. This Team Europe investment is another step in bringing the European Union and Georgia closer together, by supporting better and safer connectivity through East-West transit routes.”

EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi added, “In the Eastern Partnership region, our connectivity agenda is implemented through our Economic and Investment Plan. Improving connectivity is a central feature of that plan. With this new investment in Georgia’s East-West highway, we are improving Georgia’s connectivity to Europe as well as its road safety, travel conditions and, ultimately, we are reducing travel times for all Georgians. The East-West highway also opens up new economic and trade opportunities for Georgia as it strengthens Georgia’s role as a trade hub along the trans-Caspian corridor.”

Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili explained, “To support Georgia’s position as a regional centre for trade and logistics, our government focuses heavily on the development of major infrastructure. Since commencing its operations in 2007, the EIB has invested in numerous projects to upgrade the country’s roads, energy, water and agriculture, as well as to develop new transport infrastructure projects. The role of our development partners in the implementation of these projects is paramount. Among others, the EIB is one of the leading financial institutions that supports Georgia and aligns with our priorities. Since the start of operations, the EIB has invested more than €2 billion in our country.”

Background information:

EIB Global is the EIB Group’s new specialised arm devoted to increasing the impact of international partnerships and development finance outside of the European Union. EIB Global is designed to foster strong, focused partnership within Team Europe, and as part of the EU Global Gateway strategy, alongside fellow development finance institutions and civil society. EIB Global brings the EIB Group closer to local people, companies and institutions through our offices around the world.

The Global Gateway Forum brings together for the first time an assembly of government representatives from the European Union and across the globe, alongside key stakeholders and thought leaders from the private sector, civil society, financial institutions and international organisations. Through the forum, they promote global investment in transformative infrastructure — hard and soft — to deliver on sustainable development goals.

Global Gateway is the European Union’s strategy for reducing the worldwide investment gap by boosting smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and by strengthening health, education and research systems. The Global Gateway strategy embodies a Team Europe approach that brings together the European Union, Member States and European development finance institutions. It aims to mobilise up to €300 billion in public and private investments from 2021 to 2027, creating essential links rather than dependencies, and closing the global investment gap.

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SOURCE: European Investment Bank