Developing Green and Inclusive Regional Gateway

approved

The proposed Facility will finance five small-scale activities to support preparation and implementation of transformative projects. The activities will include feasibility studies, detailed designs, preparation of safeguard documents, financial and economic analysis and operation and maintenance for ensuing projects, as well as pilot-testing of advanced technologies and management approaches, extending capacity building and implementation support, governance reform support and knowledge products. The sub-loans for individual activities will be extended at government's submission of activity requests, the execution of the activity sub-loan agreement for each activity, and the fulfillment of the terms and conditions and undertakings in the facility agreement. The priority sectors under the SEFF will include: (i) public finance management; (ii) energy; (iii) transport, logistics, and trade facilitation; (iv) water and other urban infrastructure; (v) agriculture, rural development, and natural resources; and (vi) education and health. The support will particularly focus on several areas including improving Georgia's connectivity to transform the country into a regional trade and transit hub; developing green cities with improved urban livability along transit corridors; tapping Georgia's clean energy generation and export potential; addressing the skills mismatch through increasing the quality, access, and affordability of gender-responsive secondary, tertiary and vocational education services; increasing access to quality healthcare and others.SEFF will mainstream the climate action in ensuing projects by aligning them with the Paris Agreement to help boost the climate resilience of systems, infrastructure and institutions. Knowledge and advisory services will encompass costbenefit studies and other analytics to fill data gaps and generate evidence to encourage climate action. The SEFF will support gender equality through gender-responsive actions, designed to increase women's meaningful participation in sectors where they are currently underrepresented, and facilitate women's financial inclusion, labor market participation, and entrepreneurship in the green economy. The project will include proactive gender-responsive measures to ensure that women's equal and meaningful engagement in consultation processes and training programs as well as advancing their economic empowerment through equal access to economic opportunities.In ADB, Georgia increasingly serves as a model for seamless integration of sovereign and nonsovereign programs. Through SEFF ADB will work with relevant government agencies to identify opportunities for private sector investment and participation in the construction of new and upgraded infrastructure as well as the cost-effective management of existing assets. ADB will assist government agencies in identifying and capitalizing on opportunities for increased private sector involvement that also incorporate investment opportunities to improve climate resilience and gender equality, particularly through PPPs. Support will be channeled through midstream activities including defining pipelines of bankable investments in priority sectors and themes, including through PPPs.Economic and financial analysis will be carried out, as appropriate, for each facility-financed activity to confirm that the ADB-financed project supported by the activity will remain viable. Under the first activity of the facility a feasibility study for the proposed new Tbilisi international airport and the social and environmental safeguards assessment will be developed. Economic and financial due diligence will be conducted for all subsequent facility-financed activities as necessary.All activities under the facility will include activity-specific safeguard review and categorization as necessary. Activities under the SEFF will mostly engage consulting services. The first activity is categorized as C for environment. The facility will not finance any activity classified as category A for environment, involuntary resettlement, and indigenous peoples.