OREANDA-NEWS. September 17, 2013. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing finance for the development of a new mid-range hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn, in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

The USD 18.7 million loan will be extended to a local company – 64 Chavchavadze LLC – which is managed by the Georgia-based real estate company, Redix Group, owned by Georgian entrepreneurs, the Papashvili brothers.

The 14-storey, 165-room hotel will be built on Chavchavadze Avenue, one of Tbilisi’s major thoroughfares, where many local banks and other businesses are headquartered. The Hilton Garden Inn – which will be the first hotel under the famous Hilton brand in Georgia and the region – is expected to be completed in 2016.

The EBRD’s Director for Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus, Bruno Balvanera, said: “The country needs to grow the mid-range market – the kind of hotels that serve business travellers and middle-income tourists, bringing much needed investment to the country. Apart from expanding this market segment, the new hotel will also make a very important environmental contribution to the sector, setting standards in energy efficiency that move significantly beyond the current standards used in the region.”

Lasha Papashvili, the CEO of the Redix Group, said: “The EBRD, together with Georgian partner banks, has previously financed real estate investment projects represented by the Redix Group, including the Business Centre on Tabidze 1, as well as the multifunctional complex and business centre on Vazha-Pshavela Avenue. I’m pleased that, with the help of the EBRD, we will be able to implement our next project – the construction of the Hilton Garden Inn hotel. The introduction and operation of such a high-class international brand such as Hilton is very important for the Georgian hospitality sector. We will spare no efforts or resources to make it a truly high quality project.”

The project has benefited from a technical and energy performance assessment sponsored by the government of Japan, through the EBRD’s Sustainable Energy Initiative.