BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 30
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
The construction of the road on the Rikoti Pass, which is part of the East-West international highway, continues intensively in Georgia, Trend reports referring to the Department of Roads of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia.
The department noted that in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, construction work is carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health.
The construction of a complex section of the route is carried out by Chinese Hunan Road & Bridge Construction Group Corp.
Currently, work is being carried out on the 11.7-kilometer long Chumateleti – Heavy section, 12.2-kilometer long Heavy – Ubisa section, 13-kilometer long Ubis – Shorapani 13 kilometers and 14.7-kilometer long Shorapani – Argvet section. In total, up to $1 billion will be spent on the project.
In the near future, work will begin on the fourth section of Shorapani – Argvet section.
It is planned to build a road up to 51.6 kilometers in length at Rikoti Pass, which will include 96 bridges and 53 tunnels. The construction of the road should be completed in June 2024.
A tunnel passes through the Rikoti Pass, which is located on the 143rd kilometer of the Tbilisi – Senaki – Leselidze international highway. The route of many transit cargos runs along this path.
The East-West highway carries more than 60 percent of external cargo. Improving this highway is very important for turning Georgia into a transport and logistics hub, which will contribute to the development of trade relations on the one hand with Central Asia and the Far East, on the other hand with Turkey and Europe.
The East-West route, or the E-60 European transit road, is the second largest European transit corridor that starts in Brest (France) and ends in Irkeshtam (Kyrgyzstan). In Georgia, the E-60 begins on the border with Azerbaijan and ends on the Black Sea coast, near the port of Poti. In Georgia, the length of the corridor is 392 km.
The project of the East-West highway is supported by the European Investment Bank, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and China Development Bank (CDB).
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