Georgia Humanitarian Background

For more detailed database on disasters by country, please see the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters:

EMDAT information on Georgia

Calamities and Seasonal Affects

There is no major influence of the seasons on the transport in Georgia with regard to the main transport arteries such as the railroad from the seaports to Tbilisi and further on to Armenia and Azerbaijan and the highway following the same route
There are no major seasonal problems with regard to commodity handling

Capacity and Contacts for In-Country Emergency Response

Depending on the type, nature and location of a potential emergency situation, the Ministry of Defence could grand permission for the use of some of its – limited – assets. This would be mainly limited to some all terrain trucking capacity and possibly some light air transport (helicopters and fixed wing aircraft).

Government

Depending on the type, nature and location of a potential emergency situation, the Ministry of Defence could grant permission for the use of some of its – limited – assets. This would be mainly limited to some all terrain trucking capacity and possibly some light air transport (helicopters and fixed wing aircraft).

For information on Georgia Government Background contact details, please see the following links: 

Humanitarian Community

For information on Georgia Humanitarian Background contact details, please see the following links: 

4.2 Georgia Humanitarian Agency Contact List

Relief Web information on Georgia Humanitarian Agencies

Georgia Regulatory Departments

The 3 testing laboratories visited by the consultant are engaged in chemical and physical testing of food products (in most cases, wine and mineral water). The first one, Multitest Ltd Laboratory, is a private laboratory, quite well equipped and with very convenient premises. It has some relationship with the Exporters Association. Most of its personnel seem to be very qualified and experienced. The laboratory has initial plans to enlarge its activities to a microbiological analysis. The management of the laboratory has expressed interest in initiation of activities to implement a quality management system and eventually become accredited according to ISO 17025.

The second laboratory, Wine Laboratory, is accountable to the Wine Quality Foundation established by wine producers and the State (represented by the Ministry of Agriculture); therefore, its independence from political and corporative sector raises certain concerns. Its activities have been supported by GTZ (Germany). The laboratory is quite well equipped; the technical staff is young, but has received the appropriate training, both in Georgia and Germany. The German specialists come on a regular basis to give further hands-on training. The Laboratory has a microbiology section but the consultant was not able to visit it. Its Director has signaled that he was not interested either in additional technical support as the GTZ project is covering their needs or accreditation according to international standards at this stage. The third laboratory is Norma Laboratory. It is a private laboratory that has been developed with many efforts, but it needs a general rehabilitation in equipment, technical staff and premises. The owner has shown his willingness to upgrade the present facilities and introduce ISO/IEC 17025, but he lacks the necessary funds to carry on such upgrading.

For information on Georgia Regulatory Department contact details, please see the following link: 

4.1 Georgia Government Contact List

Georgia Customs Information

Duties and Tax Exemption

For contact information regarding government custom authorities, please follow the link below: 

4.1 Georgia Government Contact List

Georgia Customs Department Website

Emergency Response:

[Note: This section contains information which is related and applicable to ‘crisis’ times. These instruments can be applied when an emergency is officially declared by the Government.  When this occurs, there is usually a streamlined process to import goods duty and tax free.]

For information on Georgia Customs exemption certificate application procedure, please see the following document:

Georgia Customs Additional Details

Note: The information provided in the attached documents, which has been taken from the old DLCA, does not match the structure of the new LCA and is therefore provided separately.

Exemption Certificate Application Procedure: 

NOTE: It is strongly recommend that all the shipping documents very carefully issued according to the above mentioned instructions, it can time consuming but it will definitely minimize unnecessary delays and heavy storage charges at the Georgia end
As experienced in the past, the customs regulations can change at any time with or without notice
Check with your origin agent for up-to-date regulations

Exemption Certificate Document Requirements

All humanitarian and diplomatic cargo is exempted of customs taxes

Customs Clearance

General Information 

Customs Clearance Document Requirements

Transit Regime

Transit of goods and vehicles means the movement of goods and/or vehicles between foreign countries through the territory of Georgia without payment of import duties and application of non-tariff measures. During the transit regime, after all procedures have been completed, the goods and transport vehicles have 10 days after the Day of Call to leave the territory of Georgia.
There is a customs service fee for inspection and clearance of goods in transit, and temporary entry, including goods intended for exhibition.
The declarant or transporter of goods shall submit a guarantee to customs officials.
Goods transported through the territory of Georgia are exempt from customs duty, VAT, and excise taxes
On 16th April 1999, Georgia acceded to the Convention and Statute on Freedom of Transit of April 1921, the Convention on Transit Trade of Land-Locked States (New York, July 1965), and the International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Control of Goods (Geneva 1982)

For information on Georgia Customs contacts and focal point information, please see the following links: 

4.1 Georgia Government Contact List

4.2 Georgia Humanitarian Agency Contact List

For information on Georgia Customs additional information and focal point details, please see the following links:

Georgia Customs Information by Entry Points

Note: The information provided in the attached documents, which has been taken from the old DLCA, does not match the structure of the new LCA and is therefore provided separately.

Georgia Port Assessment

For information on Georgia Port contact details, please see the following link: 

4.3 Georgia Port and Waterways Company Contact List

Georgia Aviation 

Key airport information may also be found at: World Aero Data information on Georgia

For information on Georgia Airport contact details, please see the following link: 

4.4 Georgia Airport Company Contact List

Procedures for Foreign Registered Aircraft

Georgia Road Network

For information on Georgia road network contact details, please see the following link: 

4.1 Georgia Government Contact List

The condition of the highways in Georgia is reasonably good. When road conditions are poor on the major roads, four wheel drive vehicles are advisable. Especially during winter snow, fog and ice can be a problem in the mountainous parts of the country. In mountainous regions the roads can be narrow and slopes are sometimes steep, which in combination with bad conditions can limit the cargo that can be transported, this however is only the case in specific regions like Lechkhumi, Upper Swaneti, mountainous part of Racha and Imereti

There is sufficient transport capacity in the country, which consists mainly Soviet built trucks (Gaz, Kamaz, Ural, Maz) including 4x4 and 6x6 wheel drive trucks with capacity varying from 10 mt to more than 30 mt. The highways can easily handle these large trucks including trailers. On specific mountain roads the capacity is limited to about 10 mt or less depending on the slope and road conditions. During the winter period, mountainous roads can be subjected to fog and snow, making them difficult to negotiate. The spring rains and/or melting snow can make minor mountain road covered by mud.

The main road transport route through Georgia runs from the border with Turkey in Sarpi along the coast to Ureki (S-2), from where it cuts eastwards via Samtredia (S-12), Kutaisi (S-1), Zestaphoni, Khasuri and Gori to Tbilisi. Beyond Tbilisi the highway splits in a route along Rustavi (S-9 and S-4) to the border with Azerbaidjan and another to the border with Armenia (S-6 and S-7). Another highway route goes from Tbilisi to the Kaheti region (S-5). The “Military Highway” (S-3) goes north from Tbilisi up the Kazbegi pass where it crosses into Russia. Due to the existing political and security situation, the Roki tunnel (S-10) in South-Ossetia and the border crossing point in Leselidze in Abkhzia (S-1) are not accessible for regular road transport originating from Georgia proper. Another secondary highway route runs along the Turkish border from Sarpi to Akhaltsikhe, from where it joins the Kutaisi – Tbilisi highway via Borjomi at Khasuri. The main border crossing with Turkey is in Sarpi at the Black Sea coast. A less frequently used, but still important border crossing point with Turkey is Vale, a few kilometers from Akhaltiskhe. The main border crossings with Armenia are at Sadakhlo and Mughalo. Trucks coming from Turkey in Vale tend to use the short cut into Armenia via Akhakalaki and Ninotsminda (S-11)

All these highways – with the exception of those crossing mountain passes (S-3 and S-5 and the route from Sarpi along the Turkish border) – can be used by large trucks with 20 mt – or more – capacity all through the year. There is no toll levying on the highways, though foreign registered vehicles need to pay a kind of road tax when entering the country. The S-1 highway has a tunnel – with alternative mountain trail – between Zestaphoni and Khashuri for which a small toll fee is levied. All river crossings are by means of bridges, not ferries.

Distance Matrix

Road Class and Surface Conditions

For information on Georgia Road network additional information, please see the following document: 

Georgia Road Construction

Note: The information provided in the attached documents, which has been taken from the old DLCA, does not match the structure of the new LCA and is therefore provided separately.

Georgia Railway Assessment

Georgian Railway LLC (GR) intends to improve the safety and efficiency of their railway operations by constructing a new section of railway track bypassing the central part of Tbilisi and upgrading the existing stations of Didube and Navtlughi. GR has approached the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance the Tbilisi Railway Bypass project.
According to Georgian law, the potential environmental impacts of the project must be evaluated by an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process and documented in an environmental impact statement. As part of their decision-making process, EBRD and EIB require an evaluation of the proposed project through an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) that meets EBRD and some other international guidelines. The development of both, the Georgian EIA and EBRD’s ESIA are being consolidated into one process and documented in this single report.

The railroad is the main mode of transport for cargo that arrives in Georgia through the ports of Poti and Batumi. The Georgian railroad also serves the two other landlocked south Caucasus countries of Armenia and Azerbaijan. There is also a link with the Russian Federation that runs through the rebellious region of Abkhazia and which therefore is in disuse

From the coast the railroad travels through West Georgia via the town of Kutaisi, through the mountains, to Tbilisi. From here it travels further to Yerevan in Armenia and Baku in Azerbaijan. There are also a number of minor lines servicing the major towns of the different regions in Georgia. The freight transportation maximum in Caucasus (Georgia and Armenia) was in 1985 and reached 63.1 million mt
However, after disintegration of a former USSR economical links were broken up and freight transportation fell down to 4.6 million mt by 1995 but in the following years the volume moved increased

Specific gravity of Georgian railway in every kind of the freight transportation is about 90%. Existing technical equipment makes possible Georgian railway to transit 25-30 million mt of cargo per year. Within the Georgian setting the railways can be considered as one of the few (semi-) Government systems that operate quite efficiently. This is among others the result of the realization that due to its strategic position relative to the two other Southern Caucasus countries, it has a major role as transit country with the nearest port. In addition, construction of the new link connecting Azeri and Georgian railway systems to turkey has been agreed between the 3 countries but construction has not started yet due to tender announcement

Railway Companies and Consortia

For information on Georgia Railway company contact details, please see the following link:

4.9 Georgia Railway Company Contact List

For information on Georgia Railway additional details and pictures, please see the following document:

Georgia Railway Additional Info

Georgia railway assessment I

Georgia railway assessment II

Note: The information provided in the attached documents, which has been taken from the old DLCA, does not match the structure of the new LCA and is therefore provided separately.

Georgia Waterways Assessment

The longest rivers in Georgia are:
1. Alazani – 390 km in length with a catchment basin of 12,000 km²
2. Kura – 351 km in length with a catchment basin of 21,100 km²
3. Rioni – 333 km in length with a catchment basin of 13,400 km²
4. Enguri – 206 km in length with a catchment basin of 4,100 km²

The biggest lakes in Georgia are:
1. Paravan – with a surface area of 37.5 km³
2. Kartsakhi – with a surface area of 26.3 km³

Waterways of Georgia

Water supply in the country is on the average level and a safe drinking water supply is the key component of the general objective to ensure the environmental safety and health of people in Georgia. At present, all 85 cities and districts of Georgia are provided with centralized water systems. There are a total of 156 major water intakes. Drinking water is mainly withdrawn from the ground sources. A total design capacity of the ground drinking water sources is 3.1 million m³ a day. Waste water discharge systems operate in 41 cities and districts, 30 of which have waste water treatment plants of total design capacity equal to 1.6 million m³ a day (including regional treatment facilities in Gardabansky District with a capacity of 1.0 million. m³ a day, which serve Tbilisi and Rustavi). The total length of waterways and water distribution networks in Georgia is 9,500 km and a length of wastewater networks and sewers is 4,000 km

Georgia Storage Assessment

During the Soviet days warehouses were set up in all major urban centres of Georgia. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, much of the infrastructure has become dysfunctional. Many of these warehouses have access to the railroad. Every major town along the railroad network has warehouses with railway access. Should warehousing capacity still be short, one could look into a number of the factory buildings that are no longer in use. Some improvements (cleaning, removal of hardware, installing of security devises etc.) will be necessary, but it should be cheaper than importing mobile storage units, such as Wiikhalls, and the like. As a result of the industrial past of the country during the Soviet days and the high unemployment rate, it is not difficult to find skilled labourers. Warehouse management staff and logisticians generally need some training, but with the gradual increasing activities of a number of Western Joint Venture companies, skilled staff becomes more available.

Commercial Storage

Storage Used by Humanitarian Organizations

Georgia Milling Assessment

Milling Company: Alaphi 

For information on Georgia Milling Company Contact details, please see the following link: 

4.5 Georgia Storage and Milling Company Contact List

Georgia Fuel

During the 1990’s fuel supply links were completely broken due to disintegration of a former USSR
Now these days fuel supply system is functioning well. Refueling stations are available everywhere across to the main road and even in remote districts of the country
The main supplier of fuel is Azerbaijan and Europe

Fuel Pricing

Seasonal Variations 

Fuel Transportation

Fuel is transported by road and rail transport, transportation infrastructure and fleet are sufficient to handle current domestic needs as well as increased demand from the humanitarian community

Standards, Quality and Testing

For information on Georgia fuel provider contact details, please see the following link: 

4.6 Georgia Fuel Provider Contact List

Georgia Transporters

For information on Georgia transporters contact and fleet size details, please see the following link: 

4.7 Georgia Transporter Contact List

Georgia Additional Service Providers: Vehicle Rental, Taxi Companies, Freight Forwarding Agents, Handling Equipment, Power Generation and ISPs

For information on Georgia Additional Service Providers contact details, please see the following link:

4.8 Georgia Additional Service Provision Contact List

Electricity and Power 

Hydro resources take the first place among the natural riches of Georgia as there are 26,000 rivers with total length is approximately 60,000 km. The Ministry of Energy of Georgia is considering the effective utilization of the country's major energy potential, hydro-power resources and the construction of small, medium and large hydro power stations, like the ones on the river. The priority of the country is also the utilization of ecologically pure energy resources - alternative, renewable, wind and solar energies, geothermal waters, bio-gases and etc. Georgia has an important wind energy potential of approximately 4 billion KWh per year.  The total annual potential of solar energy in Georgia is 108 MW, which equals to 34,000 tons of fuel. Due to its geographic location, the radiation of the sun in Georgia is quite high. In most regions of the country there are 250 – 280 sunny days in a year which is approximately 1,900 – 2,200 hours per year.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

Georgia Manual Labor Costs

The Constitution of Georgia provides the main principles of protection for workers and employees in job places, concerning health and safety conditions. In particular, the Constitution of Georgia item 30 provides Freedom of Labor, Right on labor including the right on Healthy Working conditions, also maintaining the privileged work conditions for juvenile and women. This must be stated and provided by law. The mentioned decree of Constitution determines the indivisible responsibilities of the State to provide the existence of safety labor norms and using them on legal level. According to this, the above mentioned rights are defined as the part of the main human Rights and breaking of these rights by any person can be directly appealed to the Constitutional Court of Georgia.

Georgia Telecommunications 

For information on Georgia Telecommunications Systems contact details, please see the following link: 

4.8 Georgia Additional Service Provision Contact List

Land Line Telephones in use: 554,000 (1995)
Mobile Cellular Telephones in use: 2,400,000 (2007)

Telephone System: Domestic

Country has three cellular telephone networks of GSM 900 and 1800 standard and two UMTS 2100 standard:

• MagtiCom Ltd (http://www.magticom.ge/)
• Geocell Ltd (http://www.geocell.ge/)
• Mobitel Beeline (http://www.beeline.ge/)

The cellular network market counts more than 2,000,000 registered customers total (commercially active number is not known). By 2005 the coverage extends up to 95% of its populated territory.

• Urban areas 20 telephones/100 people
• Rural areas 4 telephones/100 people
• Intercity, a fiber-optic line connects Tbilisi to Kutaisi (Georgia's 2nd largest city)

Telephone System: International

Georgia and Russia are working on a fiber-optic line between Pot'i and Sochi (Russia). At present the international service is available by microwave, landline, and satellite through the Moscow switch; international electronic mail and telex service available. Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 10 at least (2003), with most of them ADSL/DSL/Cable services. Country code: +995 (Top-level domain): GE

For information on Georgia Telecommunications Systems contact details, please see the following link: 

4.8 Georgia Additional Service Provision Contact List

Georgia Food Suppliers, Accommodation and Other Markets

For information on Georgia Food supplies contact details, please see the following link: 

4.8 Georgia Additional Service Provision Contact List

Georgia Humanitarian Agency Contact List

Georgia Port and Waterways Company Contact List

Georgia Airport Company Contact List

Georgia Storage and Milling Company Contact List

Georgia Fuel Provider Contact List

Georgia Transporter Contact List

Georgia Additional Service Provision Contact List

Georgia Railway Company Contact List