TBILISI, Shawwal 4, 1438, Jun 28, 2017, SPA -- Georgia's economy has a good chance of exceeding an official 4 percent growth projection in 2017 thanks to private sector developments and the government spending on infrastructure projects, Reuters quoted the country's economy minister as saying on Wednesday. After slowing to 2.2 percent last year from 2.9 percent in 2015, the economy of the former Soviet republic is now recovering from a fall in exports and a depreciation of currencies of its main trading partners. "I think that economic growth will exceed the projected 4 percent by the end of this year," Giorgi Gakharia said in an interview with Reuters. The economy in Georgia, through which pipelines carry Caspian oil and gas to Europe, has already picked up to 4.2 percent in the first four months this year after expanding by 2.8 percent in the same period a year earlier thanks to higher exports and more remittances from abroad. "Private sector is developing well and the government's capital spending will increase," Gakharia said. Gakharia also told Reuters he expected foreign direct investment (FDI) to be slightly up this year from $1.645 billion in 2016. --SPA 17:58 LOCAL TIME 14:58 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w437337