Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-13 22:08:31|Editor: Song Lifang

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TBILISI, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The European Investment Bank (EIB) will allocate a 250-million-euro (285 million U.S. dollar) loan to Georgia to upgrade the priority road infrastructure in the country, the Georgian Finance Ministry said on Thursday.

The agreement was signed Thursday by Georgian Finance Minister and First Deputy Prime Minister Dimitri Kumsishvili and EIB Vice President Vazil Hudak on the sidelines of the 14th Batumi International Conference held in Batumi city in southwestern Georgia.

"The financial and technical support should ultimately be directed towards rapid completion of infrastructure development in our country that will strengthen Georgia's transit potential and simplify transportation inside the country," Kumsishvili said.

The 250-million-euro loan is the second and last tranche of a 500-million-euro (570 million dollar) framework loan for the construction and rehabilitation of approximately 253 km of priority primary and secondary roads identified by the Georgian government for the 2017-2020 period.

The EIB has so far supported 21 projects with a total loan volume of over 1.5 billion euros (1.71 billion dollars) in the Caucasus country.

Georgia, located at the junction part of Central Asia and Eastern Europe, has been committed to becoming a transportation hub for Asia and Europe in recent years.

The country will invest as much as 10 billion dollars to upgrade its infrastructure in 2017-2020, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said in April.

Currently, many railway and highway projects in Georgia are under construction with the financial aid of international organizations.