Georgia, Tbilisi / Trend corr. N. Kirtskhalia / Georgian 'Marabda-Kartsakhi Railway' LLC announced an international tender on 4 October for the construction of a 200m tunnel and a 25km section of the Akhalkalaki-Kartsakhi railway, Nino Shaduri, a representative of the company said.
"All the interested companies must be experienced and submit a full feasibility study," she said. The tender will be held in one lot and only one winner will be selected. All work on the construction of the tunnel and the railway section must be completed by 1 October 2009.
The section of the Marabda-Kirtsakhi is a part of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project, which is assessed at $422mln. Given construction of the infrastructure, it will require a total of $600mln.
Azerbaijan will allocate a $200mln credit to the Georgian Government for 25 years with a 1% interest rate for the construction and rehabilitation of the Marabda-Akhalkalaki railway's sections.