Turkish joint venture wins tender for Tbilisi tramway project connecting Dighomi and Didube

“A joint venture registered in Turkey has won the tender for the design and construction of a new tramway line connecting Didi Dighomi with the Didube metro station,” Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze announced at today’s municipal government meeting.

“As you know, we made a pre-election pledge to deliver this historic project, the new tramway line. Much has been said about this, and we launched an international tender to allow both global and foreign firms to participate. I would now like to share an update on this.

The procurement process, conducted under the guidelines of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the design and construction of the Didi Dighomi–Didube tramway line, commenced on March 31 this year. Expressions of interest and bids were submitted by four major companies and a joint venture, including three entities registered in Turkey and one in China. The bid evaluations are now complete, and the winner is a Turkish-registered joint venture, which submitted the lowest-priced proposal. In line with ADB procurement rules, a 14-day standstill period has been initiated, after which we will sign the contract with the winning consortium,” Kaladze stated.

According to the Mayor, the project is structured in three phases: conceptual design, detailed engineering design, and construction. The timeline for all three phases is set at 36 months from the date of the contract signing.

The tramway line will start near the junction of Didi Dighomi’s 3rd and 4th micro-districts and run via David Agmashenebeli Alley and Dighomi Massif to connect with the Didube metro station area.

“The tramway line will span approximately 7.5 kilometres, featuring 11 stops along its route. The project also entails building a dedicated depot designed to service and maintain a fleet of 11 tramcars. Alongside the track construction, a separate tender will be launched to procure 10 tramcars, and work on this is already underway,” Kaladze added.

The Mayor highlighted the significance of the development.

“Personally, I am absolutely delighted that we are restoring such a vital mode of public transport to our city. I sincerely hope this will not be the first and last project of its kind delivered by the Georgian Government and the capital’s municipality. I want to thank everyone who worked tirelessly to bring this project to fruition, from the Vice-Mayor down to every single member of staff. Delivering this project is of paramount importance to our city, and we will keep the public fully informed as the works progress,” Kaladze concluded.