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Tbilisi. July 28 (Interfax) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board will consider the extension of the 18-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) program for Georgia, which was opened in September 2008, for another 15 months until June 2011.

The IMF mission, which monitored the economic situation in Georgia from July 7 to 22, made such a recommendation to the Executive Board upon completing the visit, says a press release circulated by the IMF's office in Tbilisi.

If the board endorses the extension of the program, the credit line amounting in total to SDR 477.1 million will be increased by another SDR 270 million (about $420 million) to SDR 747.1 million.

The statement quotes Edward Gardner, the head of the IMF mission visiting Tbilisi, as suggesting that the money would be spent on reducing the budget deficit and supporting Georgia's balance of payments.

It was reported earlier that the IMF Executive Board also plans to meet on July 7 to consider the allocation of the third tranche of a reserve credit line amounting to some $100 million to Georgia.

The first two tranches that Georgia received in October 2008 (SDR 161.7 million) and in March 2009 (SDR 126.2 million) at a yearly interest rate of 5% and a redemption period of 3.5 to 5 years were fully spent on replenishing the National Bank of Georgia's gold and foreign currency reserves.

As of July 1, 2009, Georgia's debt to the IMF was $646.8 million, which made 22.1% of the country's entire state foreign debt.