New Batumi-Sarpi highway to be built in Georgia

The Roads Department of the Georgian Infrastructure Ministry has signed a contract with the Chinese company China Railway Tunnel Group to construct an 11.3 km highway that will connect the Batumi bypass road with the Sarpi border crossing point on the border with Turkey within the international East-West corridor, the department said.

The contract value is 809 million lari ($310 million at the current exchange rate). The Chinese company won the international tender that was announced in October last year. The project is being implemented using funds from the Asian Development Bank and co-financing from Georgia's state budget.

The project includes the construction of a 7.6 km tunnel bypassing settlements and a 1.5 km bridge over the Chorokh river. In addition, slope stabilization is planned in order to protect against rockfalls, along with bank protection work on 500 m of the Black Sea coast. The new road will replace the existing one, which runs along the seashore through three settlements.

The transport artery will play an important role in developing links with Turkey, expanding the trade corridor of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation program which passes through Georgia, the ADB said.

The project will be implemented over a period of four years.