Georgia Glass & Mineral Water Company

completed

Summary Of Project Information (SPI)Project NameREPUBLIC OF GEORGIA: GEORGIAN GLASS AND MINERAL WATER COMPANY, N.V.RegionEuropeSectorProject No007777Projected Board DateDecember 19, 1996Company NameGeorgian Glass and Mineral Water CompanyTechnical Partner and/or Major Shareholders TBC Group, a privately held Georgian company; VCI, a privately owned, venture capital firm based in Amsterdam; and Mr. Fred Zimmer, individual and formerly employed by Perrier.Project Cost Including proposed IFC investment Project Cost: US$10 million IFC Investment: up to US$2.5 million in a combination of common and preferred equityLocation of project and Description of site The Khashuri glass factory is located about 25 kilometers from the Borjomi bottling facilities and both are about one and one half hours from Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Description of Company and Purpose of Project The Georgian Glass and Mineral Water Company N.V. (GGMW) was formed in 1995 to acquire and revitalize the Borjomi brand of mineral water. GGMW has a majority interest in the Khashuri glass bottle factory and is involved in two joint ventures which own two mineral water bottling plants in Georgia’s Borjomi Valley. The Republic of Georgia is known throughout the former Soviet Union for its abundant mineral water resources. The Borjomi brand of mineral water has been distributed throughout the FSU for over 100 years. The brand name “Borjomi” remains widely recognized in the FSU and is often associated with medicinal qualities. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and during the subsequent civil unrest in Georgia, much of the country’s industry, including these mineral water operations, was idled. GGMW was formed to reactivate the glass factory and the bottling operations and to relaunch the Borjomi brand of mineral water.Environmental Category and Issues This is a category B project according to IFC’s environmental review procedure. Environmental issues of potential concern on this project include air emissions and other discharges from the bottle manufacture plant, potential contamination of the mineral water source as well as health protection measures for the bottled product during the mineral water bottling operations. Key mitigation measures include the elimination of the need to produce carbon dioxide and a management plan to protect the mineral water reservoir. The is from the Public Information Center.Date SPI sent to PIC November 14, 1996For Additional Information contact: Corporate Relations Unit -telephone: (202) 473-7711facsimile: (202) 676-0365Environmental documents for this project are available at http://www.ifc.org and from the World Bank InfoShop (http://www.worldbank.org/html/pic/aboutinfo.html).