with the same period of the year 2001, and Georgian foreign trade turnover with Russia have decreased by 0.9 per cent points from 16.5% to 15.6%.
p align=center>
Georgian Foreign Trade: 2001-2002 (in US $ millions)
Georgia's Top Ten Export Destinations in 2002 (in US $ millions)
Major export products in 2002 (in US $ millions)
В
3.4 Construction
Overview of Georgian Construction Sector. Georgian construction sector mainly consists of civil, industrial, hydro-technical, transport, and communication construction projects.
The construction sector was established long before the formation of the country as a legal state and has passed from primitive buildings to complicated and sophisticated complexes. Throughout various stages of the country's development, buildings and other construction projects reflect the period in which they were built. For nearly the last two centuries Georgia was part of the Russian empire and the Soviet Union, thus, the development of the construction sector was in accordance with the laws and conditions accepted by Russia and the FSU, i.e. massive construction of industrial facilities. During that period the construction sector employed almost 250,000 people and produced construction materials worth approximately US $ 1.5 million annually.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Georgian construction sector ceased development, which was mainly caused by the political, social and economic conditions of the country (ie a coup, civil war, and armed conflicts in Abkhazia and South Osetia), and also by non-efficient, highly energy consuming technologies and outdated equipment and machinery. As a result, almost one hundred percent of the construction factories and facilities ceased functioning.
During the early '90s, when Georgia became independent and positioned itself towards democracy and integration into the world economy, the Georgian construction sector realized that it was totally unprepared to meet the demands and standards of country's development phase. The main negative aspects characterizing such non-preparedness were:
1. Non-efficient and partially destroyed equipment and machinery.
2. Lack of investment in majority spheres of construction (except private construction).
3. Weak management ...
