40m GEL for bringing new life to Chiatura’s Soviet cable car system

Chiatura, a manganese mining town in western Georgia will soon have new cable cars with new gondolas and new cable car stations.

Right now three cable lines are under rehabilitation and one more is planned for upgrade.

In total 40 million GEL (about $16m/€15m*) will be spent on upgrading the old cable cars of Chiatura, which will be financed by the Georgian and French governments.

So far 50 people are already employed on the rehabilitation works and about 100 more will be employed in the future, announced the Government of Georgia.

The Soviet authorities built a series of cable cars that swept over housing projects and industrial facilities on the cliff tops down to the town centre in the valley below. Photograph: Alamy/The Guardian.

The earliest of the cable cars were built in 1954 and only a few are still in service. The Soviet authorities built a series of cable cars that swept over housing projects and industrial facilities on the cliff tops down to the town centre in the valley below.

*Currency conversions reflect National Bank of Georgia values as of today.