By Helena Bedwell

The Georgian government expects foreign direct investment to double this year, after falling 65 percent the past two years, Economy Minister Vera Kobalia said.

Georgia may receive more than $1 billion of investment, mainly in hydropower projects, Kobalia said in an interview late yesterday in Tbilisi, the capital. Tourism will also lure investors after more than 2 million people visited the former Soviet republic last year, the most since 2003, when President Mikheil Saakashvili took power in the so-called Rose Revolution.

Foreign direct investment fell to $553.1 million last year from $658.4 million in 2009 and $1.56 billion in 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Our goal is to double last year’s FDI results,” Kobalia said. “We are going to see better numbers.”

Georgia has signed 42 agreements to develop hydropower projects as the Black Sea country seeks to attract $5 billion to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Moscow-based Inter RAO UES, Turkish builder Kolin Insaat, and a venture between Solon, Ohio- based Robbins Co. and Georgia’s Peri Ltd. are among the companies that have signed deals.

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