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ADB to help Georgia in rebuilding after conflict

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-13 15:32

MANILA -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing its first-ever public sector loan in the South Caucasus country of Georgia to help rehabilitate infrastructures damaged in the recent conflict with Russia, the lender said Saturday.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili chairs a government session in Tbilisi, Georgia, Friday, Sept. 12, 2008. A popular former ally of President Mikhail Saakashvili on Friday questioned the wisdom of last month's war with Russia, calling for a 'conversation' in his homeland about whether the conflict could have been avoided. [Agencies]

ADB's 40-million-US dollar, 32-year concessional loan is being extended to Georgia's Municipal Development Fund, which will in turn provide funds to local governments to rebuild water supply, sanitation, waste management and road transport services among other infrastructures, and improve the quality, coverage and continuity of critical urban services, the Manila-based development bank said in a statement.

Funds will be provided to financially weaker municipalities as grants, according to the statement.

Georgia's municipal services have fallen into disrepair since the collapse of the Soviet Union, ADB said. Most urban water supply systems are more than four decades old, only five of 29 wastewater treatment plants are still operating, and poorly managed solid waste disposal sites damage the environment.

The country's network of urban roads is also in urgent need of rehabilitation.

"Many municipalities in Georgia don't have the resources they need to give their people clean drinking water, good roads, and other basic services," said Juan Miranda, director general of ADB' s Central and West Asia Department.

"This negatively affects families' quality of life, hampers development, and constrains investment and job creation," Miranda said.

"The recent conflict in Georgia adds a new level of urgency to the need for immediate rehabilitation and reconstruction assistance," he added.

The project will help improve public health and living standards, increase poor families' access to services and generate new jobs.

The project will also help strengthen municipal governments' ability to improve service delivery and attract private investment, according to the statement. At present, most state-owned water supply companies are not financially viable because of low tariffs and poor payment collection rates, hampering the government's privatization plans.

ADB staff are currently on the ground in Georgia as part of a joint needs assessment team, working together with other international lenders and development agencies, to assess both direct, immediate damage of the conflict and its medium-term impact on infrastructure and service provision.