Argentina, Madagascar & Tonga Join AIIB, Funding Announced For Georgia & Tajikistan Projects
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has just held its second annual meeting in Jeju, South Korea, with the board of governors adopting resolutions approving Argentina, Madagascar, and Tonga as new members.
The governors also signed off on two loans to Georgia and Tajikistan. A US$114 million loan for the Georgia Batumi Bypass Road Project, it being the bank’s first loan to Georgia, and part of a co-financing initiative with the Asian Development Bank.
The project aims to improve regional connectivity and the efficiency of road transport along the East-West Highway in Georgia. The project comprises a new two-lane road approximately 16.2 km long, in a key section of the East-West Highway that rings the Black Sea port city of Batumi. This will link with the existing main road connecting Sarpi at the border with Turkey to Poti, a major port at the Black Sea, and a key transit route along the coastline of the Black Sea for heavy goods and passenger traffic from Turkey to Tbilisi and then onto Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea.
Georgia has recently signed a Free Trade Agreement with China.
Related: China’s Trade With The Caucasus
A second US$60 million loan was signed for the Tajikistan Nurek Hydropower Rehabilitation Project Phase I – this time, as part of a co-financing initiative with the World Bank. The project aims to rehabilitate and restore the generating capacity of three units of the Nurek hydropower plant, improve their efficiency, and strengthen the safety of the Nurek dam operations.
About Us
Silk Road Briefing is published by Asia Briefing, a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. We produce material for foreign investors throughout Eurasia, including ASEAN, China, India, Indonesia, Russia & Vietnam. For editorial matters please contact us here and for a complimentary subscription to our products, please click here.
Dezan Shira & Associates provide business intelligence, due diligence, legal, tax and advisory services throughout the Asian and Eurasian region. We maintain offices throughout China, South-East Asia, India and Russia. For assistance with OBOR issues or investments into any of the featured countries, please contact us at silkroad@dezshira.com or visit us at www.dezshira.com
Related Reading:
Silk Road and OBOR Business Intelligence
Dezan Shira & Associates´ Silk Road and OBOR investment brochure offers an introduction to the region and an overview of the services provided by the firm. It is Dezan Shira´s mission to guide investors through the Silk Road´s complex regulatory environment and assist with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing business operations in the region.
An Introduction to Doing Business in China 2017
Doing Business in China 2017 is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in China. Compiled by the professionals at Dezan Shira & Associates in January 2017, this comprehensive guide is ideal not only for businesses looking to enter the Chinese market, but also for companies who already have a presence here and want to keep up-to-date with the most recent and relevant policy changes.
China’s New Economic Silk Road
This unique and currently only available study into the proposed Silk Road Economic Belt examines the institutional, financial and infrastructure projects that are currently underway and in the planning stage across the entire region. Covering over 60 countries, this book explores the regional reforms, potential problems, opportunities and longer term impact that the Silk Road will have upon Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the United States.
