BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 12
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Georgian Roads Department of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure announced a tender for the construction of the second section of Zemo Osiauri-Chumateleti road of the East-West international highway, Trend reports citing the agency’s website.
Under the terms of the tender, the winning company is to build a 6.4-kilometer four-lane road with asphalt concrete pavement, with 11 bridges and five tunnels in 27 months. It must also build underground passages and a drainage system during this period.
In total, 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 2022.
The construction on the Rikoti Pass is divided into four sections: the Chumateleti – Heavy section of 11.7 kilometers, the Heavy – Ubisa section of 12.2 kilometers, the Ubis – Shorapani section of 13 kilometers and the Shorapani – Argvet section of 14.7 kilometers. In total, up to $1 billion will be spent on the project.
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.
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