(Tbilisi, Civil Georgia, December 5, 2002) – Opposition Parliamentary factions and the member of the Anti-Corruption Council protest against the Georgian government’s decision to sell the Azot Chemical Factory to the Russian energy company ITERA.
At the news briefing on December 5 Givi Targamadze, member of the Anti-Corruption Council announced that the sale of the factory without procurement is illegal.
At the government’s meeting on December 4 President Shevardnadze stated that the only way to rehabilitate the factory is to sale it to the ITERA.
Solomon Pavliashvili, Minister of the State Property Management said at the government’s meeting that ITERA would pay USD 500 million for the 90% of factory’s shares. The ITERA also will invest up to USD 13 million in the two years.
At first Georgian authorities refused to sell the factory without procurement to the ITERA but after the visit of the company’s president in Tbilisi this week, Georgian government changed the decision.
During the talks with the Georgian leadership president of ITERA agreed on Georgia’s debt repayment for seven years. The debt was accumulated for the supply of the gas. ITERA is the exclusive gas supplier to Georgia.
Opposition Parliamentary factions the United Democrat, National Movement and the Traditionalists believe that in ITERA’s face, the Georgian government will have the organization, linked with the Russian political groups, which is guided not by economic goals but by these groups and in fact is a tool of pressure over Georgia.