Georgian authorities seek $0.5 bln for Tbilisi bypass road construction

TBILISI. June 6 (Interfax) - The Georgian government is negotiating with an international financial institution to secure a $0.5 billion loan for financing the construction of a 51-kilometer bypass road around Tbilisi, Deputy Infrastructure Minister Mzia Giorgobiani said during parliamentary hearings.

"At this stage, we are already working with the Finance Ministry to mobilize additional funds, as well as conducting preparatory work with a development partner for project implementation. We hope to actively begin road construction next year," Giorgobiani was quoted by the bm.ge portal as saying.

The new road project will receive final government approval by the end of the year, pending environmental impact assessment (EIA) documentation approval, she said.

The project will be implemented in several phases, she said. The most expensive will be phase 3, involving construction of the longest section from Avchala to Tbilisi Airport (22.5 km), estimated at $300 million. The route will mainly follow the former bypass railway corridor, incorporating four existing tunnels (total length 3.6 km) and a 921-meter bridge. The project also requires building four new tunnels with a total length of 3.8 km and constructing a new 928-meter bridge parallel to the existing Avchali Bridge.

The 6.5 km Tsitsamuri-Avchali section is budgeted at $150 million, featuring two parallel 4 km tunnels.

The Airport-Lochini bypass section will span 10.4 km, with construction costs estimated at $100 million. The Lochini-Rustavi road section (11 km) is projected to cost $70 million.

The entire 51 km route will include 48 bridges with a total length of 11.6 km and six new tunnels with a combined length of 10.7 km.