EU bank provides €106.7 mln to Georgia for major upgrades of East-West highway
The project aims to improve road safety on the motorway, cut travel times, reduce vehicle operating and maintenance costs, and increase the economic and territorial cohesion of Georgia. It also aims to improve connectivity within the South Caucasus region. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
Tweet 
Share
The European Investment Bank has provided an additional €106.7 million to upgrade two sections of Georgia's East-West (E60) highway, the country’s main road artery, and extend the motorway to the borders with Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The loan from the EU bank will finance two upgrades:
- The 30km-long section between Algeti and Sadakhlo
- The 32 km-long section between Rustavi and the Red Bridge
The project aims to improve road safety on the motorway, cut travel times, reduce vehicle operating and maintenance costs, and increase the economic and territorial cohesion of Georgia. It also aims to improve connectivity within the South Caucasus region.
Once completed, the East-West Highway will offer a quicker and safer traffic alternative to existing connections and integrate Georgia with the Trans-European Transport (TEN-T) Network.
The TEN-T spans the European Union and strengthens social, economic and territorial cohesion in the Union, while its extended networks, such as the East-West Highway, extend the same benefits to EU partner countries.
The EIB has been supporting the construction of the East-West Highway since 2012 and has invested about €1 billion in it.
Georgian Infrastructure Minister Maia Tskitishvili has presented new projects today that will be implemented in Georgia this year. The new projects are mainly related to the renovation of schools and roads in Georgia.
The first 2.5 km two-lane section of the Rikoti Highway, a mountain pass which divides Georgia into its eastern and western parts, will open this fall, announces Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze. He said that 70-80% of the Rikoti Pass project is in the active construction phase.
The Khashuri bypass road, a new 13 km section of Georgia’s major transport artery, the East-West Highway, has opened today. The project aims to modernise the country’s infrastructural development, as well as to improve regional connectivity and road transport efficiency.
Ongoing work on a highway of "crucial" importance, set to connect Georgia's capital Tbilisi with the Black Sea city of Batumi, will be completed soon, prime minister Giorgi Gakharia told reporters on Saturday.
In about 10 years construction of all highways will be completed in Georgia, households across the country will have unfettered access to water supply, all municipal landfills will be replaced by modern regional centers, regions will be socially and economically developed, municipalities will be strengthened and their capacities will increase, says Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze at the presentation of the 10-year development plan today.
Construction of a new road that will connect Mestia, a highland town of Georgian region of Svaneti to Lentekhi, a central town of Lentekhi district in Racha-Lechkhumi, and the Kvemo Svaneti region will be completed in 2023, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has announced today while meeting with locals in Svaneti.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated that the travel time from Tbilisi to Batumi will be just three hours by 2024 after the construction of 96 bridges and 53 tunnels will be completed on the Rikoti Pass. Currently the trip takes between five-six hours. Garibashvili noted that projects of such scale and complexity have not been implemented in the country.
The first 2 km two-lane section of the Rikoti Highway, a mountain pass which divides Georgia into its eastern and western parts, has opened today, announces the Ministry of Infrastructure. Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze said that currently traffic is open on two lanes of a 2 km four-lane section, while the construction of a parallel two-lane road is underway.
A 51-kilometer road connecting the two Georgian regions of Zemo Imereti and Racha has opened today, shortening the distance between the two regions by 80 km and reducing travelling time by 1.5 hours. The new road starts from the Sachkhere village and passes through seven villages. Finally the road joins the Ambrolauri-Oni road.
A new 6 km highway section has been added to the 5 km section of the Grigoleti-Kobuleti road in Georgia’s west, which was opened last year, the country’s Infrastructure Ministry announced on Tuesday.