KazTransGas for sale

The KazTransGas Tbilisi gas distribution company is for sale. Kazakhstan has stated this officially but not so far quoted an initial asking price.

It is possible that the Tbilisi gas distribution network will be purchased by Azerbaijani state company SOCAR. This means yet another monopolist will appear on the Georgian market.

When KazTransGas entered Georgia it promised that by 2006 it would spent USD 20 million on the rehabilitation of the gas distribution network. It promised that it would change most of the dilapidated parts of the network and also rehabilitate the underground communication system network. It also committed itself to changing the internal networks in blocks of flats and other facilities and spending USD 6.5 million on supplying new meters.

The natural gas tariff is already high in Georgia and as the Energy Ministry has reported KazTransGas planned to increase the tariffs further, a proposal categorically rejected by the Ministry.