DUSHANBE , June 1, Asia-Plus - The International holding, Georgian Glass and Mineral Water Co, N.V. (GG&MW) has begun supplying Borjomi natural mineral water to Tajikistan .   

Ms. Nitsa Cholokashvili, a specialist with the GG&MW public relations service, has told Asia-Plus that first train cars loaded with Borjomi are arriving not only in Tajikistan but also in Mongolia , Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan .    

According to information from the Ministry of State Revenues and Tax Collections, the first bulk of Borjomi mineral water arrived in Tajikistan in the beginning of this week and it should pass the examination at “Tojikstandart” ( Tajikistan ’s standardization and metrology agency).  Only after this the water will come on the market in the country.  

In the meantime, Mr. Shuhrat Orifov, Deputy Director General of the Tajik-US Joint Venture “Obi Zulol” producing soft drinks, considers that this fact “is extremely unprofitable for domestic producers of mineral water.”   “At present many companies dealing with production of mineral water are competing with each other in Tajikistan , and another company’s entering the Tajik market evokes a certain concern,” he noted.  

ABOUT: The international holding, Georgian Glass and Mineral Water Co. N.V. (GG&MW), was founded in 1997 by European investors, international financial institutions, and Georgian representatives.  On April 11, 1997 , the company received the official license granting permission to extract and bottle Borjomi natural mineral water.  Today, GG&MW owns two mineral water bottling factories, which operate with highly sophisticated equipment. With the help of over 1000 employees, the factories bottled more than 120 million bottles of mineral water in 2002. European experts oversee the process of the bottling operations and product quality.