Several years ago the (now former) Georgian government started successful reforms in the electricity sector and was eagerly looking forward to future projects. The improvements made were evident. The rehabilitation of hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) and other structural reforms led to a gradual increase of hydro power generation and to the decrease of electricity imports and thermo power generation. From 2006 this helped Georgia to become a net exporter. By 2010 Georgia exported almost seven times more electricity (1524.3 GWh) than it imported (222.1 G...
ISET Economist Blog
A blog about economics in the South Caucasus.
Oct
17
Oct
05
No, nothing about the election here. Instead something about the Georgian retail gasoline market, which according to some is not so competitive. Case in point is this article on an opposition (soon government) leaning news outlet that alleges price fixing in the Georgian retail gasoline market. The article is based on a recent study by Transparency Georgia. A study with some interesting data, but apparently it was all too much for a clueless (or partisan) journalist. But let’s discuss the study itself.
Transparency Georgia finds that:
The reta...
Jul
04
In the last week's Khachapuri Index column in The Financial we took a break from agriculture and focused instead on the energy sector of Georgia. While the bulk of khachapuri cost is related to home grown agricultural products, to actually cook khachapuri one has to use energy. And though the share of energy in the total cost is very low, less than 6% (15 tetri, if using gas; 16 – if using electrical oven), it does not make the sector any less interesting to discuss.
Let us begin by stating the obvious: ever since we started our Khachapuri Index survey i...
Feb
10
From Eurasianet:
The Azerbaijani developer Avesta plans to stick the 1,110-meter-high (about 3,642- feet-high) building on a chain of artificial islands off Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea shore. Completion date: by 2019. The tower -- named, not surprisingly, "Tower of Azerbaijan" -- is expected to house hotels and business centers.
While it is unclear whether this project will ever be realized, it certainly shows that Azerbaijan has huge ambitions. Comparisons to Dubai come to mind, as a city with attention-grabbing architectural projects. More importantly, Du...
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