Economy Ministry Building Put on Sale
A building in the center of Tbilisi, housing the Economy Ministry, has been put on sale through electronic auction.
The starting price of the building, located on a street adjacent to the Rustaveli Avenue, is USD 6 million. Auction will be closed on June 26.
According to the terms set by the ministry, a buyer will have to turn the property into a hotel with at least 100 rooms by the end of 2018.
If sold, the building will continue to house the Economy Ministry till the end of this year. It has not yet been decided where the Economy Ministry will be housed if the building is sold.
The government first announced about intention to sell the Economy Ministry building in February. The government said at the time that amid depreciation of the national currency, lari, it was planning to intensify privatization of state-owned assets and raising about USD 300-350 million in the process.
The 2015 state budget, adopted by the Parliament in late December, sets revenues from privatization only at GEL 85 million – at that time that translated to about USD 46.1 million, but due to the depreciating lari it is now roughly USD 36.7m.
