Roads Department: Rikoti Highway to be completed in 2023
Construction of the new Rikoti Highway is set to be completed this year, the Roads Department of Georgia said on Monday while rejecting media reports that suggested the work had been delayed from its original deadline of 2022. Photo: IPN
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Construction of the new Rikoti Highway is set to be completed this year, the Roads Department of Georgia said on Monday while rejecting media reports that suggested the work had been delayed from its original deadline of 2022.
The Department’s comments came following a report by Formula TV on the topic, with the state body’s response alleging an association of unspecified “outlets” with the United National Movement opposition party in attempts to “spread misinformation” and calling the report on the Highway project’s missed deadline a “lie”.
It is also a lie that it is still unknown when the project will be completed. The end of 2023 is announced as the deadline for the completion of the project in the public communication”, it said.
The body also rejected accusations of corruption in the infrastructural project, and said “all companies” involved in design, construction and supervision had been selected through international tenders.
The tenders have been carried out according to the rules established by international financial institutions and under their strict supervision. All steps, all decisions are agreed and confirmed by the relevant international financial institutions, following their policies and rules”, it added.
The Department also rejected claims the project posed a risk to residential houses located nearby the Rikoti Tunnel.
“All houses within 250 metres from the Tunnel have been marked, without excess being recorded [...] In addition, in October 2022, technical conditions of residential houses were checked by the National Forensics Bureau, [which confirmed] none of the residential houses were affected by the ongoing construction works on the project”, the body said.
Vehicle traffic on Rikoti Pass, a major crossing between eastern and western parts of Georgia, was restored on Saturday under a “special regime”, with the recommendation of specialists, the Roads Department of Georgia said.
Giorgi Tsereteli, the Chairman of the Roads Department of Georgia, on Friday said Rikoti Pass, a major crossing between eastern and western parts of Georgia, was closed to all types of vehicles due to a risk of a landslide, and added its professionals were working to restore traffic “as soon as possible”.
Rikoti Pass, a crossing between eastern and western parts of Georgia, will be closed between Thursday and Friday to all types of vehicles due to a risk of landslide, the Roads Department of Georgia said on Thursday.
The Roads Department of Georgia on Tuesday said a slope of the Rikoti Pass dividing Georgia into its eastern and western parts had collapsed on Monday due to a landslide prior to reinforcement works planned on the section.
The Interior Ministry of Georgia on Tuesday rejected recent media reports on vehicle traffic disruption on the Rikoti Pass section “for several days” as “misinformation”.
The Roads Department of Georgia on Wednesday said traffic for trailers through Rikoti Highway, a major crossing between eastern and western parts of the country, would be reopened starting today, with access for light vehicles allowed from Thursday.
Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze on Tuesday said the landslide risks observed last month on the kilometre 149 section of the Rikoti Pass, a major crossing between the western and eastern parts of the country, had not been caused by the construction works on a new highway through the Pass.
Giorgi Tsereteli, the Chair of the Roads Department of Georgia on Thursday said all sections of Rikoti Pass, a major crossing between eastern and western parts of Georgia, would be safe and all works were being carried out “according to the plan”.
Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze on Friday called the “false” accusations by the domestic opposition on the financial statements regarding the construction of Rikoti Highway “absolute nonsense” and said the International Financial Institution carried out money transfers itself.
Georgian Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze on Monday rejected what he called “artificial fear and tension” around the construction of the Rikoti Highway in central Georgia as “groundless”, following claims by a part of the domestic opposition about environmental issues of the project and possibility of selection of contractor companies under international sanctions.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Saturday said the opening of a 27-kilometre, four-lane section of Rikoti Pass, a major crossing between eastern and western parts of Georgia, which includes 65 bridges and 38 tunnels, would “facilitate movement” on the road.