I congratulate you – we are witnessing a historic moment. The unique Kvesheti-Kobi tunnel has been dug. It is fair to say that today marks a truly historic date in the development of road infrastructure – today we are celebrating the completion of the digging of the continuous 9-kilometer Kvesheti-Kobi vehicular tunnel, the longest in Georgia, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated in his speech at today’s event dedicated to the completion of the digging of the Kvesheti-Kobi vehicular tunnel.
According to the Government Administration, the head of Government noted that the new road will reduce travel time by a tremendous 45 minutes.
“Notably, the tunnel has been dug using TBM, an innovative drilling machine created just for this project. Thus, along with the cutting of the tunnel, we are celebrating the success of a new technology as well. The new 23-kilometer road, including five tunnels, will drastically upgrade road safety standards to ensure safe and comfortable travel for our country’s population and guests alike.
“I would like to emphasize specifically that this project, along with all necessary safety requirements, also observes the standard of environmental impact. The new road also significantly reduces travel time. If presently it takes 1 hour from Kvesheti to Kobi-and, because of avalanche danger, traffic is often prohibited altogether-after the completion of the project one will be able to safely cover the distance in 15 minutes, meaning that travel time will be reduced by 45 minutes,” the Prime Minister stated.
According to the Prime Minister, the project is poised to have both economic and social effects.
“The Kvesheti-Kobi project does not seek just to develop road infrastructure. It also improves connectivity between our country’s regions and mountainous villages or settlements. Thus, alongside economic effect, it is poised to enjoy a major social impact as well.
“The project is especially important to the populations of 10 villages that previously remained with no road connection for months, year after year, therefore with no access to medical, educational, and livelihood services. The new road provides these villages with access to the country’s central cities and regions any time throughout the year, in this way offering new opportunities for improving their social and economic conditions.
“With such projects, we are putting in place a new opportunity for the populations of mountainous areas to keep their living spaces, empower local communities, and thus protect our cultural heritage in the form of these unique villages.
“Notably, the new road will not only bring economic benefits to the local population, but will also encourage the maximal utilization of the region’s tourism potential. This is exactly why this project validates our Government’s goal of ensuring the inclusive development of the country’s economy,” Irakli Kobakhidze pointed out.
The Head of Government thanked everyone involved in the design and construction of the tunnel.
“I express my gratitude to the engineers, builders, specialists of various spheres, our partners, the Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, whose support has been key to the project’s implementation. I am also thankful to our Chinese friends, the Chinese company implementing the relevant work, also our Turkish friends supervising the project’s implementation, and, of course, a special thank you goes to the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, and personally to the Minister, Mister Irakli Karseladze, who has made a special contribution to the successful implementation of this project. I did not know that so many things can be accomplished at once. However, Mister Karseladze is good at it, and I thank him for carrying out this project, and I am grateful to the Ministry as a whole, also to the Roads Department, its each employee and leadership, for the successful implementation of this project. Once again, I join you in celebrating the inaugural success of the Kvesheti-Kobi project. It is indeed a project of the future, without exaggeration. And such development-oriented investments will ensure our country’s progress, development, and European future,” the Head of Government said.
Under the Kvesheti-Kobi construction project, the digging of the 9-kilometer tunnel connecting the village of Kvesheti to the village of Kobi has been completed. The tunnel, the longest in Georgia, promises to boast some of the unique characteristics worldwide.
As part of the project, a 23-kilometer 2-lane asphalt concrete road equipped with a lighting system is under construction to incorporate the building of five bridges and five tunnels, and the rehabilitation of one tunnel. The project also envisages the construction of a new 5-kilometer road to Gudauri and a tourist center.
The Kvesheti-Kobi road construction project is implemented with financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and, in the tunnel construction part, with co-financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The total value of the project is 1.2 billion GEL.
The event was attended by the Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, Irakli Karseladze, the Finance Minister, Lasha Khutsishvili, and representatives of the Roads Department and international financial institutions.
