Georgia implements GEL 700 million project to modernise railway
Tuesday, July 7
A new railway tunnel was opened in western Georgia’s Kharagauli district within the 700 million GEL Georgian Railway Modernisation Project.
The 962m tunnel was opened by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who said five more tunnels were to open in the future.
"In order to fully use our country’s transit potential, alongside with ports, railway infrastructure should also meet international standards,” Garibashvili said and added increasing cargo transit through Georgia was crucial.
"Georgia’s greatest strength is its location and we should use this potential wisely,” the PM said.
"Restoring the historic Silk Road can be possible with such projects.”
The Georgian Railway Modernisation project is due to finish in November 2019. Once finished, Georgia’s railway will be able to transit about 65 million tonnes of cargo a year, three times more than today.
Meanwhile, the project was believed to decrease ecological risks, increase safety and reduce the travel time from the capital city, Tbilisi, to the Black Sea coastal city of Batumi by an hour.
(Agenda.ge)