Publication: N9 / Review period: December 1-31, 2021/ Author: Salome Abramishvili
Review of Russia’s Economic Relations with Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region is being prepared within the framework of the project - Roadmap to Kremlin's Policy in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region. The purpose of the publication is to provide an overview of economic relations between Russia and Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region. The review is a monthly publication and will be useful for everyone – decision-makers, public employees, media representatives and other people who are interested in the Kremlin policy in the occupied regions of Georgia.
Economic Relations Between Russia and Abkhazia
Monitoring the Implementation of the Investment Program
The de facto President of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, checked the progress of the rehabilitation of water supply system in New Athos. The works are carried out within the framework of the investment program promoting the socio-economic development of Abkhazia in 2020-2022. The program which is financed by Russia allocated a total of RUB 100 million 664 thousand for the overhaul of distribution networks.
Cooperation with the Customs Service
Abkhaz and Russian customs officers held a working meeting at the Adler checkpoint. The meeting discussed the increase in violations of customs legislation during the temporary import of cars with Abkhazian license plates into the territory of Russia for carrying out illegal operations. The parties agreed to strengthen measures to identify and suppress such operations. Customs officers also developed additional measures to avoid congestion of vehicles at the Adler multilateral checkpoint and agreed to redistribute vehicle flows across different traffic lanes.
Meeting of Representatives of the Customs “Services.” Source: sputnik-ossetia.ru
Tourism
Agriculture
In 2021, feijoa exports from Abkhazia to Russia almost doubled, while the number of exported tangerines halved compared to 2020. According to the State Customs Committee, a total of 1,851 tons of feijoa were exported so far, compared to 990 tons last year. There was a bad harvest of tangerines in 2021. Its export from Abkhazia to Russia amounted to 60 thousand tons in 2020.
Banking
The National Bank of Abkhazia plans to launch a mobile application for the APRA payment system in September-October 2022. The application will enable APRA card holders to transfer money online to cards of Russian banks. The Chairman of the National Bank, Beslan Baratelia, noted that it is necessary to attract IT specialists from Russia to implement the project, as there are no experts of this level in Abkhazia.
Energy Field
Meeting on the Development of the Gasification Scheme of Abkhazia. Source: Web-page of the De Facto Cabinet of Ministers
Plan for the Airport Revival
The Russian armed forces completed engineering reconnaissance of the Sokhumi Airport. The military servicemen cleared seven hectares of the territory from various types of UXOs, anti-tank mines, artillery shells and mortars. According to Aslan Bzhania, documents for to the restoration of the Sokhumi Airport will be signed with the project organization by the end of the year. A potential investor will allocate RUB 120 million for the construction. According to Mr. Bzhania, the Sokhumi Airport will launch the first flight in January 2024. In addition, at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on December 16, the de facto government decided to establish the “Republican Unitary Enterprise” Abkhaz Airlines. According to the “Minister” of Economy, Kristina Ozgan, the Russian Ministry of Transport will provide trainings for specialists.
Plan for the Railway Rehabilitation
The Head of the Abkhaz Railway, Arso Chitanava, met with the General Director of the joint-stock company LenGiprostroy, Alexei Drapezo, in St. Petersburg. The parties discussed the issues of modernization of the Abkhaz Railway and agreed on arrival of specialists to assess traction substations, the contact network of the railways and prepare recommendations for the reconstruction.
During the working visit, Chitinava signed an agreement with the RZD Business Aktiv international container operator. The agreement provides for the transportation of goods in containers from Abkhazia to Russia. For the first time, a Sukhumi-Moscow container train will be put into operation, which will depart from Sokhumi once a week and transport Abkhazian goods to Moscow.
Economic Relations Between Russia and the Tskhinvali Region
Summary of the Results of the 2021 Investment Program
The Ministry of Construction, Architecture and Housing and Utilities summed up the implementation of the 2021 investment program. According to the Ministry, 94% of the works under the investment program have already been completed, as well as 21 out of 27 projects were implemented. The program allocated RUB one billion 350 million for 27 projects. Among the completed projects are the Tskhinvali N 3 secondary school, residential buildings in Tskhinvali, Java and Kornisi, reconstruction of water intake facilities, sewerage networks and seven well-maintained streets in Tskhinvali, the Gufta-Kvaisa road, a 4 km length backup power line (110 kV) between Tskhinvali and Russia, the Vanat-Tskhinvali water pipeline, etc.
According to the Ministry, the works were negatively affected by the unfavorable epidemiological situation and the lack of labor force. The remaining six projects will be implemented in the coming years. As for the construction of a children's camp in the village of Mziv, the completion of the project was postponed until the summer of 2023. An additional ten streets will be renovated in Tskhinvali next year. It is noteworthy that out of 126 streets, about 78 have already been renovated since 2013. Bridges and new residential buildings will be built in Java and Tskhinvali.
Investment Program for 2022-2025
During his working visit to Moscow, the de facto Prime Minister of the Tskhinvali region, Gennady Bekoev, met with the Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia, Dmitry Volvach. The topic of the meeting was the implementation of the socio-economic development program of the Tskhinvali region for 2022-2025 and intergovernmental relations.
A total of RUB 2.7 billion is allocated for the implementation of the social and economic development program for 2022-2025 which will start in the first days of the new year.
Energy Field
In 2022, the Tskhinvali region will receive from Russia duty-free exports of 8,000 tons of premium gasoline, 1.1 thousand tons of diesel and 2.7 thousand tons of petroleum bitumen.