Agreement signed with Chinese company to build 9-km tunnel on key section of North-South Corridor
The project cost is 909 million GEL ($306/€278 million) and will take four years to complete. Photo: The Roads Department of Georgia.
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An agreement to build a 9-km tunnel on the Kvesheti-Kobi road was signed today by Chinese company China Railway Tunnel Group Co., LTD (CRTG) and the Georgian Ministry of Infrastructure, announces the Roads Department of Georgia.
The Kvesheti-Kobi road is a part of the North-South Road Corridor, connecting Georgia with its northern and southern neighbours.
The road passes through difficult terrain and is often closed due to heavy snowfall in the winter.
Construction work will start at the end of 2019 and will be completed in 2023. Photo: The Roads Department of Georgia.
Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure Irakli Karseladze called the agreement ‘the biggest’ in the history of the country.
The construction of a two-lane, 22.7 km long asphalt-concrete road, six bridges and five tunnels are planned on the Kvesheti-Kobi road, including the construction of one nine kilometer long tunnel. The cost of building the Kvesheti-Kobi road and the tunnel is $558.6 million.
The cost of building the Kvesheti-Kobi road and the tunnel is $558.6 million. Photo: The Roads Department of Georgia.
The road will also improve the living conditions of inhabitants living in the gorge, who are often isolated from the outside world in the winter, allowing them to maintain constant movement in the winter, improve road safety and carrying capacity, reduce the risk of road accidents and decrease the time needed for travel.
In total, the project will benefit nine villages.
See rendering of the Kvesheti-Kobi road project.
Construction on the Kvesheti-Kobi section is being financed by the Asian Development Bank ($415 million) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ($60 million). The rest ($83.6 million) is financed by the Government of Georgia.
Construction work will start at the end of 2019 and will be completed in 2023.
The tunnel project cost is 909 million GEL ($306/€278 million) and will take four years to complete.
Travellers headed for Georgia's famous ski resort of Bakuriani will soon be able to drive on a new bypass that detours the resort, passes through the forest and ends up in the Didveli ski zone.
Chinese company China Railway 23rd Bureau Group Co will build a new 13 km-long Kvesheti-Kobi road in Georgia, announces the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has summed up the past six months of development work on Georgia’s road system, noting that the development of road infrastructure is the priority for the government.
Modernisation of the Kutaisi bypass road in western Georgia into a four-lane highway will be completed by the end of 2020, announces the government of Georgia.
The Georgian Ministry of Finance will start negotiations with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance the Tbilisi Urban Railway project, announced the Minister of Finance Ivane Matchavariani today.
The construction of a three-kilometre bypass road in the popular ski resort town of Bakuriani has opened, and will hopefully lead to a decrease of large traffic jams during the winter season, the Georgian Municipal Development Fund announces.
The Labor Inspection Department has fined the Georgian branch of Chinese company China Railway 23rd Bureau Group Co 50,000 GEL ($16,845/€15,326) for violating work safety rules that caused the death of one worker, announced the Georgian Ministry of Health.
800 km of roads have been rebuilt across Georgia in 2019, which is almost four times more compared to the previous year, said Head of the Roads Department Irakli Karseladze earlier today.
Roads in western Georgia leading to the Tskhrajvari temple in Tkibuli, Imereti region and to Tobavarchkhili Lake in Samegrelo region will be reconstructed. The Ministry of Infrastructure says that the roads will be reconstructed in 14 months.
Why it is important for Georgia?
Construction of the longest tunnel in Georgia, 9-km long and 15-m in width Kvesheti-Kobi tunnel, has started today, announces the Ministry of Infrastructure. The tunnel will be carved with the tunnel boring machine which was specially made for the construction of the Kvesheti-Kobi tunnel. The Kvesheti-Kobi tunnel starts at Tskere village and ends at Kobi village, and will pass under Jvari pass. Overall, construction of 2-lane 23 km long asphalt-concrete road, five bridges and five tunnels is planned on Kvesheti-Kobi road, including renovation of one more tunnel.
The Georgian ministries of Infrastructure and Internal Affairs on Friday said they could not confirm media reports on the death of workers during the construction works on the Kvesheti-Kobi tunnel in Georgia’s north.