An official ceremony has recently taken place to mark the opening to traffic of the Ubisa – Shorapani section of Georgia’s East – West Highway. The event counted on the participation of the Prime Minister of Georgia, Mr. Irakli Garibashvili, the Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure, Mr. Irakli Karseladze, the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, H.E. Mr. Paweł Herczyński, and the Head of the European Investment Bank Global’s Regional Representation for the South Caucasus, Mr. Maciej Czura.

The new four-lane, 27-kilometre stretch of the highway includes 65 bridges and 38 tunnels, and is one of the seven sections supported by the European Union, with European Investment Bank (EIB) loans of approximately €1 billion and over €42 million of EU grants in total. The highway forms a crucial part of the extended Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and the Middle Corridor.

Back in 2017, a Joint Venture led by IRD Engineering signed an Asian Development Bank-funded contract for the preparation of the detailed design for the new construction of the Khevi – Ubisa – Shorapani – Argveta sectios (E60 Highway Route). The project was successfully completed in 2019 and we are now proud and honoured to witness that its first section has been finally inaugurated.

Mr. Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia, declared during the event: “We are celebrating the commissioning of a new 4-lane 27-km fragment of a highway, which includes 65 bridges and 38 tunnels. We all know that construction of highways and roads has a tremendous importance for the development of our country, especially the construction of the East-West Highway. Since 2012, when we came to power, 193 km out of 261 km-long highways have been built and commissioned during our governance.”

The Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure Mr. Irakli Karseladze stated “Both the 27-km section that opened today and Rikoti Pass section are crucial. These can be considered the most challenging sections along the entire East-West Highway, which in turn is a part of the Silk Road of the European road network of the international E60-E70 highway.”

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