Defence Minister: “no substantial circumstances” against construction of new Tbilisi airport on former Vaziani airfield

Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze on Wednesday said there were “no substantial circumstances” that would prevent the construction of a new international airport on the grounds of the former military airfield in Vaziani to serve the capital city of Tbilisi.

Burchuladze reviewed the possibility of developing a new airport - a project revealed earlier this year by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili - at a meeting of the Defence and Security Committee of the Parliament, the Defence Ministry said.

Today we reviewed the possible development of Vaziani airport. Of course, we agreed that the radical position that an airport cannot be built here does not exist. Members of Parliament heard the position of the Defence Forces. On the contrary, there may be a promising and better condition [for the project]”, Burchuladze said. 

The Minister stressed the final decision would be made after relevant studies, “carried out by professional experts in the relevant field”.

As far as I know, an assessment is planned in 2024, including from the military point of view, environmental impact, infrastructure, as well as what benefit or negative impact it may have on the urban development of the city”, he continued. 

In an annual report on the Government’s work in June, Garibashvili told lawmakers his Government’s ambition was to turn Georgia into an "aviation hub” and the goal would require having the “best, international-class airport in the region, which will also be a transit and logistics centre with high-level passenger and cargo terminals”.

He said the Government was considering two options for achieving the goal - expansion of the existing Tbilisi International Airport or construction of a completely new facility on the territory of a former airfield in Vaziani outside the capital.