International tender announced for new Tbilisi Metro station

An international tender to construct a new Metro station in Tbilisi has been announced.

The Tbilisi Development Fund, the municipal entity designed to finance rehabilitation of old parts of the capital city, will reveal the winning company chosen to undertake the construction project at the end of September.

The existing Metro line will continue from Vazha-Pshavela station and a new station will be built near Tbilisi State University’s Maglivi X building on University St. The new station is expected to begin operating in two years.

It is expected to cost between €35-42 million (about 84-100million GEL) to build the new station. Multilateral finance institution Asian Development Bank will fund 85 percent of the total cost and the rest will be covered by the state budget.

The majority of the work, including construction of tunnels, was completed during the Soviet era.

The Tbilisi Development Fund has released photos of the proposed design of the Metro station.

The Tbilisi Metro is made up of two lines measuring 27.1 km in length and serves 22 stations. Of these, 20 stations are below ground while two are at ground level.

There are advanced plans to extend the Metro system with a third line, to encompass the Vake district.

In 2012, the Metro transported 93.9 million passengers - a significant increase on the 85.6 million passengers transported in 2011.

The first Tbilisi Metro station opened in 1966.