Chargé d'Affaires Kent Logsdon Signing USTDA Grant Agreements to Promote Clean Energy and Information Technology in Georgia (September 24)
Tbilisi
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On September 24, Chargé d'Affaires Kent Logsdon will sign two grant agreements
on behalf of the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). Natia Turnava, General Director of the
Georgian International Energy Corporation (GIEC) and Giorgi Gugunishvili, Chief
Executive Officer of JSC United Telecom will sign the agreement for their
respective organization's grants.
USTDA is awarding $284,342 to GIEC for a
study of coal bed methane (CBM) production in the Vale coal basin in southern
Georgia. This builds on a previous
$540,000 USTDA grant to GIEC for a feasibility study on the potential for CBM
in the Tkuibuli-Shaori coal basin located in western Georgia. USTDA will also
promote the development of the clean energy sector in Georgia by sponsoring a
trade mission to the United States for Georgian officials looking to construct
the country's first major underground natural gas storage facility.
In the information and communications
technology sector, USTDA is awarding a $336,300 grant to JSC United Telecom of
Georgia (UTG) for a feasibility study on a national fiber-optic ring that will
expand high-speed internet and phone service. The development of the ring will
provide Georgia with a more reliable network and will extend advanced
telecommunications services to presently unserved areas in southern
Georgia. It will also help promote competition in
Georgia's developing telecommunications and internet markets.