Silk Road Group S.A.

The Radisson Blu Iveria Tbilisi has won the award of Best New Hotel presented by the Central Asia and Turkey Hotel Investment Conference (CATHIC). A jury of eminent hotel and tourism experts has selected what has become the leading luxury hotel in Georgia from among all recently opened hotels in the Caucasus and Central Asian region. The award will be officially presented during the CATHIC 2011 event, which takes place in Istanbul from 7 to 9 February 2011.

"We are very proud of this award," says George Ramishvili, Chairman of Silk Road Group, the business group that has developed the hotel, "in particular since CATHIC is a key event for the hotel and tourism industry and brings together industry leaders from the region. Our hotel as well as Tbilisi and Georgia will gain a lot from the award, since the conference is considered a showcase for industry best practice."

The Chairman of the Turkish general contractor of the hotel, Haluk Kaya of Uchgen Group, was also awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award by CATHIC for his lifetime achievements.

The Radisson Blu Iveria Tbilisi was opened in September 2009. It has 249 rooms and is operated by the Rezidor Hotel Group. The Iveria Hotel was built originally in 1967 in the very centre of the city as the premier luxury hotel of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and was named after the ancient kingdom Iveria.

As a result of the war in Abkhazia in the 1990s the hotel became a refugee camp housing more than 800 refugees. For many years it was an eyesore and negative reminder of the Abkhazia conflict. In 2004 the refugees were moved and given financial support by the owners to find new housing in Tbilisi before the Hotel was restored to being Georgia’s premier Hotel with a contemporary interior design.

As Thomas Willemeit of Graft, the German key architect of the new hotel, pointed out: "In the reconstruction of the Iveria Hotel only the concrete structure of this urban landmark of the architectural “international style” of the 70’s was maintained. The projects goal was to transform the building into an icon of the capital of Georgia by re-anchoring it in the fantastic local environment of Tbilisi and by reconnecting its style to the world of today. The Iveria is thus more than a hotel; it is a beacon of optimism for the future of Georgia. Reassuring its own incomparable tradition and self confidence the project reinvents living culture without neglecting its close history."

The Silk Road Group is one of the investors behind the Radisson Blu Iveria Tbilisi hotel. More information on the hotel can be found at http://www.radissonblu.com/hotel-tbilisi