Why Georgia in 2026
Geostat counted 5,391 construction permits in January to June 2026, 0.6% fewer than a year earlier, but for a larger total building area of 5,275.7 thousand m², up 1.7%. Tbilisi took 49.2% of the permits, followed by Kvemo Kartli at 9.2%, Adjara, home to Batumi, at 7.6%, and Kakheti at 7.3%. Geostat lists multifunctional residential complexes, trade facilities, hotels and industrial enterprises among the permitted buildings. Three kinds of work stand out for duct shops: apartment and mixed-use towers, hotels, and port and logistics buildings on the Black Sea coast.
Residential towers in Tbilisi and Batumi
Colliers Georgia reported more than 59,000 apartment sales worth USD 4.3 billion in Tbilisi and Batumi in 2025. Tbilisi recorded 42,267 transactions and Batumi 17,052, a new record for the Black Sea city. Apartments themselves are often cooled with split or VRF units, but the towers still need sheet metal: underground car park ventilation and smoke extract, kitchen and bathroom extract risers, stair and lobby pressurisation where the fire design calls for it, and the shops, restaurants and offices in the podium floors of mixed-use complexes.
Hotels in Tbilisi, Batumi and the coast
Geostat reported 2,783 hotels and hotel-type establishments in Georgia in 2025, 4.5% more than in 2024, with the number of rooms up 6.1% to 54,300. Adjara held 21.3% of the establishments and Tbilisi 20.9%. International brands keep signing: in September 2026 Accor announced a 130-room Swissôtel at 30 Rustaveli Street in Batumi, developed by MC Construction and expected to open in early 2027, adding to the 13 hotels Accor already operates in Georgia under 8 brands. Be realistic about the pace. International tourist visits in the first half of 2026 were up only 0.1% and tourism revenue fell 2%, so treat the hotel pipeline as steady work, not a boom. Hotels are still among the most duct-heavy buildings: guest room supply and extract, kitchen extract, laundry, car parks and pressurisation.
Ports and logistics: Poti and Anaklia
Georgia's Black Sea ports are a link on the Middle Corridor between Central Asia, the Caucasus and Europe. Poti is the country's largest seaport: APM Terminals Poti handled 545,297 TEU in 2024 and, as reported in May 2025, was planning a new container terminal of up to 400,000 TEU a year, expected in 2027.
Further north, construction of the Anaklia deep sea port moved into an active phase in August 2026. The Belgian contractor Jan De Nul began dredging to a depth of 17.5 m, and the plan includes a 1.38 km breakwater. The government says the first stage, sized at about 600,000 containers a year, should be completed in 2029, with phase one investment now put at USD 1.1 billion, roads and railways built alongside and a free industrial zone planned next to the port. Port buildings, warehouses, cold stores and the factories that follow them all need ventilation ductwork, much of it large rectangular and spiral duct.
Standards and codes for ductwork in Georgia
Georgia sits between two technical traditions. Buildings were designed for decades to Soviet SNiP norms, and the country is now moving toward European standards as part of its Association Agreement with the EU. In practice you build to whatever the project specification names.
- GEOSTM and EN standards: the Georgian National Agency for Standards and Metrology became a CEN and CENELEC Affiliate in January 2023, an intermediate step toward full membership, and EU-funded projects have supported it in increasing the number of European harmonised standards adopted as Georgian national standards. For ductwork the relevant European documents are EN 1505 and EN 1506 for rectangular and circular duct dimensions, EN 1507 for the strength and leakage of rectangular sheet metal duct and EN 12237 for circular duct. We could not confirm which of these GEOSTM has already registered, so check with your designer. Our EU duct fabrication guide and air leakage classes guide explain what they mean in the shop.
- Eurocodes: the Ministry of Economy has been introducing the Eurocodes for structural design. In 2024 Investor.ge reported that Eurocode 0 had been submitted to the standards agency for registration as a national standard, with Eurocodes 1, 2 and 7 in the pipeline, while one developer noted that the Soviet-era SNiP code was still in use.
- SNiP and the Russian-language tradition: engineers trained in the Soviet system worked to SNiP documents such as the former Soviet heating, ventilation and air conditioning norm SNiP 2.04.05-91, and older drawings describe duct sizes, gauges and flange joints in those terms. Trade references in 2026 still list GEOSTM as a member of the Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, the body behind interstate GOST standards.
- Seismic design: the Georgian building code PN 01.01-09, Earthquake Engineering, issued in 2009, states that the whole territory of Georgia is in a seismically active zone. That puts weight on duct hanger and bracing details; see our hangers and supports guide.
- SMACNA and DW/144 on international projects: branded hotels and projects designed by foreign consultants may name SMACNA or the UK's DW/144 instead. Our international duct standards comparison and gauge chart cover the differences.
Importing duct machinery into Georgia
- Customs duty: Georgia's tariff has three bands, 0%, 5% and 12%, and the US Commercial Service reports that nearly 90% of goods benefit from a zero rate. Duct forming and folding machines usually fall under HS heading 8462, but the rate depends on the exact tariff line, so check the Revenue Service tariff calculator or ask your customs broker before you budget.
- VAT: most imported goods pay VAT at 18%, charged on the customs value plus import duty.
- Free industrial zones: Georgia has free industrial zones in Poti, Kutaisi and Tbilisi, with tax benefits for qualifying companies, and a new zone is planned next to Anaklia port. Conditions apply, so check with your tax adviser before you order.
- Conformity: Georgia is not a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, so EAC is not the route in. Under the Association Agreement and its free trade area with the EU, Georgia is aligning its technical rules with European ones. We could not confirm whether duct machines need a Georgian conformity document, so ask your broker. Taokron machines are CE marked with a Declaration of Conformity and ship with electrical diagrams, manuals and component lists.
Containers for Georgia usually arrive through Poti or Batumi, and Poti is linked to Tbilisi by rail and road. The same ports serve Armenia and Azerbaijan, so a Georgian shop can also look at regional work; see our Azerbaijan market guide. Our importing guide covers the general paperwork.
Power supply: 380 V three phase, 50 Hz
Georgia runs at 50 Hz, with 220 V single phase for sockets and lighting and 380 V three phase for industrial equipment. Taokron machines for Georgia are wired for 380 V 50 Hz three phase. The US trade administration's electrical reference notes that frequency stability is not guaranteed, so tell us if your supply sags or fluctuates and we size the control transformer and protection to suit. See also duct machine voltage and frequency by country.
Typical Georgian shop set-ups and the machines that fit
Contractor shop, rectangular duct for towers and fit-outs
Rectangular duct is the core product for apartment towers, hotels and offices, so most Georgian contractor shops should start there. A practical set is a Rectangular Duct Line II SBAL-II or Auto Duct Line SBAL-III, which take coil to cut, beaded and notched blanks in one pass. Add a Pittsburgh lockformer (SBLC series) for the longitudinal seams, a TDF flange forming machine for the transverse joints and a pneumatic folder for fittings and short runs. That covers straight duct, TDF joints and simple fittings with a small crew. The Pittsburgh seam also lets a Tbilisi shop ship duct flat as L-shapes to Batumi or regional sites and close it there, which saves truck volume.
As output grows, a duct zipper (SBHF TDF) closes seams far faster than hand hammering, and an auto corner making machine or pneumatic corner mounting machine takes the corner pieces off the bench. Our TDF vs angle flange guide helps if your clients still ask for angle iron flanges from the SNiP era.
Project shop for hotels, port and logistics work
Shops supplying hotel towers, port buildings and warehouses need output and consistent quality over thousands of square metres. The Auto Duct Line SBAL-V is a U-shape automatic line from coil to finished panels for TDF, angle flange or drive cleat duct, a Plasma Cutter SBPC1550 cuts fittings from nested drawings, and a hydraulic folder handles heavier gauges and long bends for plant rooms and industrial extract. For a real example of a full rectangular shop, see Airtemp in Canberra, which installed eight machines in September 2026.
Round duct
Spiral duct suits exposed ceilings, car parks, warehouses, port sheds and industrial extract. The Spiral Tubeformer SBTF-1500 or SBTF-1602 forms round duct from coil, and the Spiral Duct Flanging Machine SBFB-1600 turns flanges on round duct ends. Kavanagh Industries in Sydney added an SBTF-1602 in October 2026.
Labour and space
Geostat put the average monthly nominal salary in Georgia at GEL 2,389.3 in the second quarter of 2026, up 8% on a year earlier. Construction paid more, at GEL 3,496.6. An auto duct line combines the shearing, notching, beading and folding steps of manual rectangular duct, so the same output needs fewer skilled hands.
On space, the auto duct line is the longest item, with coil racks at one end and a run-out table at the other, and a spiral tubeformer needs run-out length for full duct sections. Location follows the work: Tbilisi and the Rustavi side of Kvemo Kartli for most commercial and residential jobs, Batumi for Adjara's towers and hotels, and Poti for port and logistics work. Ask us for a layout drawing based on your building before you sign a lease. Our factory layout guide has worked examples.
Working with Taokron from Georgia
- Machines built since 1994 and supplied to 100+ countries, with 60+ patents, from an ISO 9001:2015 factory
- CE marked with a Declaration of Conformity
- Wired for 380 V 50 Hz three phase
- Installation and commissioning quoted per engineer-day
- Replies within 12 hours by email at [email protected] or on WhatsApp at +61 435 074 994
Get a Georgia-ready Taokron quotation →
FAQ
Which standards apply to ventilation ductwork in Georgia?
Georgia is moving from Soviet-era SNiP building norms toward European standards. The national standards body, GEOSTM, has been a CEN and CENELEC Affiliate since January 2023 and adopts European standards as Georgian national standards under the EU Association Agreement, and the Eurocodes are being introduced for structural design. On site you will meet both worlds: older drawings and some designers still describe ducts in SNiP terms, while newer and internationally designed projects name EN duct standards such as EN 1505, EN 1507 and EN 12237, or SMACNA or DW/144. The 2009 seismic code PN 01.01-09 treats the whole country as seismically active, which matters for hangers and bracing. Always build to the documents named in the project specification.
What voltage and frequency do duct machines need in Georgia?
Georgia runs at 50 Hz, with 220 V single phase for sockets and lighting and 380 V three phase for industrial equipment. Taokron machines for Georgia are wired for 380 V 50 Hz three phase. Measure the supply at your workshop and tell us the transformer capacity and whether the voltage fluctuates, so we can size the control transformer and protection to suit.
What taxes apply when importing duct machinery into Georgia?
Georgia's customs tariff has three bands, 0%, 5% and 12%, and the US Commercial Service reports that nearly 90% of goods enter at a zero rate. Most imported goods also pay VAT at 18%. Duct forming and folding machines usually fall under HS heading 8462, but the duty depends on the exact tariff line, so check the Revenue Service tariff calculator or ask your customs broker before you budget. Companies in Georgia's free industrial zones can qualify for tax benefits if they meet the conditions.
Do imported duct machines need EAC or another certificate in Georgia?
Georgia is not a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, so EAC is not the route into the Georgian market. Under its Association Agreement with the EU, Georgia is aligning its technical rules and standards with European ones. We could not confirm from an official source whether duct forming machines need a Georgian conformity document, so ask your broker before the machine ships. Taokron machines are CE marked with a Declaration of Conformity and come with electrical diagrams, manuals and component lists for any paperwork your broker requests.
Where is ductwork demand in Georgia coming from in 2026?
The main sources are apartment towers and mixed-use complexes in Tbilisi and Batumi, where Colliers counted 42,267 apartment sales in Tbilisi and a record 17,052 in Batumi in 2025; hotels, with the number of hotel rooms up 6.1% in 2025 and new branded hotels such as Swissôtel Batumi announced; and port and logistics work around Poti and the new Anaklia deep sea port, where dredging started in August 2026 for a first stage due in 2029. Tbilisi alone accounted for 49.2% of construction permits in the first half of 2026.
Which machines should a new Georgian duct shop start with?
A contractor shop making rectangular duct for apartment towers, hotels and offices usually starts with a rectangular duct line or auto duct line, a Pittsburgh lockformer, a TDF flange former and a folder. Add a duct zipper and corner equipment as volume grows, a spiral tubeformer when round duct becomes regular work, and a plasma table for fittings. Send your duct sizes, gauges and monthly output and a Taokron engineer will propose a machine set within 12 hours.
