Georgia: Construction Cost Index down in Q1 2021

The Construction Cost Index (CCI) decreased by 1.6% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the previous quarter, the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) reported. The change was mainly due to a 19.7% decrease in average monthly nominal wages of employees in the construction sector, which contributed -6.05% to the total index change.…

Ukraine: UNIDO to open Investment and Technology Promotion Office

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) will establish an Investment and Technology Promotion Office in Ukraine, the press service of the Ministry for Strategic Industries of Ukraine has reported. “The Ministry for Strategic Industries has been selected as the main central executive body responsible for fulfilling the obligations arising from Ukraine’s membership in the…

Georgia: no new lockdown planned

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated that the government has no plans to reimpose coronavirus restrictions “because the state economy will not withstand them”. He stated at a governmental meeting that the authorities had decided to “manage the epidemiological situation in the country rather than impose lockdown and other restrictions”. Garibashvili has urged the public…

Lithuania: Kaunas receives first freight train from the Netherlands

Lithuania’s Kaunas Intermodal Terminal received its first freight train from the Netherlands, capable of carrying containers and semi-trailers. The train arrived on the European standard-gauge railway Rail Baltica, said Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LG), the country’s state-owned railway company. According to the company, the terminal has officially become Europe’s easternmost rail point accessible for freight…