The European Investment Bank (EIB) has extended a €30mn loan for the upgrade of a highway in Georgia.

The finance comes in addition to a €170mn package agreed in 2012, and will help increase the capacity of the East-West highway which links Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, with its Black Sea ports, as well as important trade hubs in Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The EIB refused to confirm terms and conditions of the debt with GTR, but spokesperson Du¹an Ondrejièka says that the project will be key to improving inter-regional trade.

He continues: “The project will improve the transport links in Georgia as well as its connections with neighbouring countries in terms of quality improvements, capacity and safety increase with positive implications for domestic and international trade.”

Earlier in the year, the EIB issued the Georgian state a loan worth €40mn for the construction, refurbishment and upgrade of municipal water facilities. The latest loan takes the bank’s lending to Georgiato €490mn.