DUSHANBE, January 12, 2009, Asia-Plus - As of December 31, 2008, Dushanbe’s gross regional product (GRP) has been estimated at 3.2955 billion somoni, Dushanbe Mayor Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloyev announced at a meeting of the mayor’s office on January 10.

A metropolitan area’s gross regional product, or GRP, is one of several measures of the size of its economy.  Similar to GDP, GRP is defined as the market value of all final goods and services produced within a metropolitan area in a given period of time.

The meeting was held to review Dushanbe’s economic results in 2008.  Speaking at the meeting, the capital mayor noted that Dushanbe’s share in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year accounted for 18.7 percent, which was 1.2 percent more than in 2007, according to Shavkat Saidov, a spokesman for the Dushanbe mayor.

In 2008, private enterprises based in Dushanbe produced a total of 510.1 million somoni worth of goods.  Compared to 2007 the index of the volume of production of goods by them amounted to 107 percent.

New 18 enterprises were launched in the city last year, creating more than 350 new jobs.  These enterprises have produced 8 million somoni worth of goods to this date.

Direct foreign investments (DFIs) in the city’s economy rose to 167.1 million US dollars in the year to December 31, 2008, which is 63.6 million dollars more than in 2007.  81.6 percent of DFIs were spent to construction and 18.1 percent of DFIs were used for enhancement of the telecommunications sector, the spokesman said, noting that the city’s exports fell 79 percent over the report period, amounting to only 17.3 million dollars.