Irakli Kobakhidze, Prime Minister of Georgia, together with Revaz Sokhadze, Minister of Infrastructure, met representatives of construction companies and commercial banks to discuss a package of regulatory changes related to infrastructure projects.

The Government of Georgia is preparing a new package of amendments to the legislative norms regulating state construction projects. The goal of the reform is to strengthen the construction sector, increase the financial sustainability of state projects and establish higher standards of accountability and transparency within the public procurement system.

As the Head of Government of Georgia noted while discussing the planned changes, the main objective is for the country to receive infrastructure of the highest possible quality while ensuring that the state pays market prices for such projects.

“Today, we shared with representatives of the sector a draft of the changes that will improve the existing situation. There are issues related to pricing and indexation. Our main objective is to obtain infrastructure of the highest possible quality while ensuring that the state pays market prices for it. At the same time, we want to strengthen companies as much as possible, particularly Georgian companies. This is our main goal, and it is exactly what the changes presented today to the companies involved in the sector are intended to serve. These changes were, in essence, positively received by them,” stated the Prime Minister of Georgia.

Irakli Kobakhidze thanked the Minister of Infrastructure and the Head of Government Administration for their work on the reform package and noted that the authorities would continue to actively cooperate with companies involved in the sector in this direction.

Under the changes, the limit for overhead and unforeseen expenses will increase, prices for construction materials and machinery will be updated, and an indexation mechanism will be introduced, allowing for partial adjustment of contract values in the event of price fluctuations during the project implementation phase.

The reform also envisages support for small and medium-sized businesses. It will become possible to combine the experience of a bidder and its subcontractor in state tenders, enabling companies to participate more actively in large-scale projects.

At the same time, accountability and control mechanisms will be tightened. Participation in tenders with unrealistically low prices will be restricted, while the blacklist mechanism will be expanded, meaning that companies associated with financial or corruption-related crimes may be disqualified from state tenders.

The meeting was attended by the Head of Government Administration Levan Zhorzholiani, Head of the Efficiency Department Guram Dumbadze, Chairman of the State Procurement Agency Levan Razmadze and representatives of the Levan Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau.