Retrospective and Current Realities of Fuel Industry Development in Abkhazia

Abstract

The paper will address the development of regionalization processes in Georgia, which is a logical result of the events of the last decades.

The study presents the characteristics of the regional economy, specific problems and directions of development of the energy sector of a particular region. The share of a particular region in the country's energy sector is determined by the number and scale of its enterprises in a given field.

The study discusses the period from the 1990s, following the restoration of Georgia's state sovereignty and the collapse of the Soviet Union, which is related to the transition to market economic relations and the creation of a new international relations environment for the country;

The paper emphasizes those regional problems that exist in modern conditions and that have not been thoroughly studied.

The establishment of market relations in Georgia and major economic changes coincided with political unrest in the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, as a result of which in 1993 the region was declared an independent republic by local separatists from Georgia and to this day they arbitrarily consider it to have passed from the jurisdiction of Georgia. Therefore, a real characterization and assessment of the current situation in the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, the main trends in the development of the region's economy, especially energy, during this period, has not been made. The purpose of this work is to inform the public in this direction.

At the present stage, the economy of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia is experiencing a crisis. As a result of the destruction caused by the hostilities of 1992-1993 and the subsequent looting and robbery, all sectors of the region's economy and social sphere have suffered severe losses. A significant part of the assets was destroyed, and a large volume of machinery, equipment, and tools was almost completely out of order. Rolling stock of automobile, railway, aviation, and sea transport, industrial bases, railway stations and their equipment, and the Sukhumi airport were destroyed, looted, and lost. Agriculture, energy, communications, resort, and communal services, especially roads and bridges, suffered significant losses. Based on the above, the study presents the opinion that the primary prerequisite for the restoration and development of the economy of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia should be the restoration and development of the energy sector of the region, since the economy of Abkhazia as a whole and its individual sectors depend largely on the latter. According to the calculations presented by the Ministry of Economy of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, which were conducted in the 90s and which were incomplete for the given period, as a result of the war, the material damage caused to the economy and social spheres alone exceeded 3.0 billion GEL, while the damage to the personal property of citizens (excluding housing stock) amounted to 5.5-6.0 billion GEL, i.e. a total of 8.5-9.0 billion GEL.

The study characterizes the potential of fuel resources of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia and provides a retrospective of the development of the fuel industry. The extremely great importance of the development of the remaining reserves of the Tkvarcheli coal deposit for the development of the energy economy not only of the autonomous republic, but also of Georgia as a whole is presented. At the present stage, the economy in the territory of Abkhazia functions with a negligible load. The development and use of energy potential in the region has been completely stopped over the past 30 years. Setting directions for the rational use of the region's energy potential is a very urgent problem, the solution of which is of great economic and political importance for Georgia. It will allow the economy of the autonomous republic to be launched, and with the full development and use of local energy resources, it is possible to satisfy Abkhazia's needs for electricity, as well as to supply it to other regions of Georgia and neighboring countries.

The paper aims to assess the current state of the energy sector in Abkhazia before and after the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict. An analysis of the initial state of the prospective development of the sector and the prospects for the restoration of the energy sector are provided. At the same time, the study takes into account the difficult political situation in the region, according to which, currently, the energy issue is the only legal area for conducting cooperation between Georgia and de facto Abkhazia. Therefore, within the framework of the study, a perspective vision of the development of the energy sector in the region is provided.