Travellers moving through Georgia's Black Sea resort city of Batumi will soon be able to drive on a new bypass that detours around the city, offering a pleasant journey with lush scenery and less traffic.
The Georgian Roads Department says that the 14km section of the Batumi Bypass Road is due to be built by 2020.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will jointly finance the project, which includes the construction of two-lane asphalt concrete road, 19 bridge crossings, four transportation interchanges, five tunnels and 57 culverts.
The new bypass road will pass through Makhinjauri, Gantiadi, Kapreshumi, Salibauri, Peria, Makhvilauri and Khelvachauri.
The currently existing road passes through tourist and residential zones, which causes problems for the movement of international transit. Batumi Bypass Road will completely unload traffic in the resort areas of Adjara, which will promote an increase of transit turnover”, said the Roads Department of Georgia.
A total of 774 families will have to be resettled in order to build the new road. An agreement has already been reached with 218, announced the Roads Department of Georgia, while negotiations are underway with the remaining families.