"I wonder why Georgia is inviting Chinese companies to build roads here. We can build tunnels that are better than the Chinese," Polish Ambassador to Georgia Mariusz Maszkiewicz said in an interview with BMG and Forbes Georgia. He said that Poland has much experience in the construction of highways and roads. Bm.ge asked the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Georgia to comment on the Polish diplomat's statement, explaining interest from companies from EU countries. However, in international tenders, they are mostly unable to compete with large Chinese companies regarding qualifications and prices. Some local businesses are also worried about the small involvement of Georgian companies in the projects.
Paata Trapaidze, the founder of the company "Caucasus Road Project," spoke about this topic on the "Business Course".
"The issue has nothing to do with China. Today, 7 Chinese companies are participating in tenders, and they are mainly state-owned companies. I have a question - which commercial company will compete with the state company ?! This is absurd. Yes, this is EU money, but this money is our payment. We are all suffering," Paata Trapaidze said.
According to him, state companies' participation in tenders should be banned, and this should apply not only to Georgian companies but also to everyone.
"Georgian state companies do not have the right to participate in tenders, and why do state companies from other countries have them ?! This results from opaque tenders, as no Georgian or European company can compete with Chinese companies. The solution is probably one - to ban all state-owned companies from participating in tenders. No Chinese commercial companies will participate. If there is any benefit for one side, then it should be the same for the other side, and this should apply to the restrictions as well," Trapaidze said.
