The overhaul plan is part of a major programme designed to extend the gas network across the ex-Soviet country, Gazprom Armenia, the company's local distribution subsidiary said in a statement.

The ex-Soviet country’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 4.2 percent on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter of 2021, compared to 1.5 percent growth in the same period last year and 8.3 percent contraction in the first two months of this year.

Over the last decade, Georgia has become the post-Soviet region’s premier international tourist destination, and a huge part of the country’s economy has come to rely on this fact. Over nine million international travelers visited the country in 2019—up from two million in 2010—bringing in – officially – $3 billion in revenue.