Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

Georgian Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze and Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR's President Rovnag Abdullayev opened a section of a new gas pipeline in the Azerbaijani-populated village of Fakhraly in the Bolnisi region in Kvemo Kartli, eastern Georgia, on Monday.

State Minister for Reintegration Paata Zakareishvili, Agriculture Minister David Kirvalidze, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Georgia Azer Huseyn, SOCAR Energy Georgia Director General Mahir Mammadov and MPs attended the event.

At the first stage, a 53 kilometers section of the gas pipeline was built in the direction of Kharagauli in Imereti region, western Georgia. As a result, some 1,229 families in the Fakhraly village will receive natural gas from Azerbaijan.

Speaking at the event, Kaladze said a total of 16,151 customers in the Azerbaijani-populated Kvemo Kartli region have been provided with gas today. It is planned that this number will increase by 1,950 customers during 2013.

Furthermore, foundation of a refrigeration facility was laid in Marneuli and a bridge, a central road and a square in Bolnisi was opened with the participation of the Georgian and Azerbaijani officials.

On the same day, Kaladze and Abdullayev opened the first SOCAR combined filling station in Tbilisi, which will service vehicles with both gasoline and gas.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Abdullayev said that around 20 combined filling stations will be built in Georgia this year.

"We are actively building a filling station network in Georgia," he said. "Moreover, we are making innovations."

The two neighbors - Azerbaijan and Georgia - broadly cooperate in regional projects on energy, transport, economic and other important sectors.

In November 2006, SOCAR established its own representation in Georgia, which is closely involved in the energy market of the neighboring country.

SOCAR Georgia Petroleum invested $149.7 million in the development of the Georgian wholesale market in 2006-2012, SOCAR's website said. According to the report, SOCAR Georgia Petroleum brought the total number of SOCAR's filling stations in Georgia to 100, of which eight were opened in 2012.

Moreover, SOCAR's subsidiaries in Georgia imported 383,440 tons of oil products to the Georgian market in 2012, of which 328,435 tons were produced by Azerbaijan.

The total amount of SOCAR subsidiaries' tax transfers to the 2012 state budget of Georgia amounted to 269.514 million lari.