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Day: December 30, 2025
Министр обороны России Андрей Белоусов поручил командующим войсками военных округов и военным комиссарам обеспечить совместно с органами исполнительной…
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Exports from the Istisu mineral water plant located in Kalbajar have been disclosed for the past eleven months of this year. According to the official data, the exports have amounted to…
The post Exports resume from Kalbajar’s Istisu mineral water plant first appeared on The South Caucasus News – SouthCaucasusNews.com.
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Georgian officials on December 29 inaugurated the completed Rikoti pass highway, which links eastern and western Georgia and has been one of the most challenging sections of the broader East-West Highway, hailing it as the “project of the century.”
The 52-kilometer, four-lane route, which includes 51 tunnels and 97 bridges, has now fully opened after months of partial operation, years of delays, and controversies surrounding the companies involved in its construction.
“Each of us is witnessing a historic event. The project of the century – Rikoti – has been completed,” Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said at the opening ceremony under falling snow, adding that the project is of “exceptional importance for our country.”
The event was attended by Georgian Dream government officials, members of the business community, and the Asian Development Bank’s Country Director for Georgia, Leslie Bierman Lahm.
The Rikoti Highway is a critical segment of Georgia’s transport network, linking eastern and western Georgia and carrying freight and passenger traffic between the Black Sea port of Poti, the Turkish border, and eastern Georgia.
It forms part of the East–West Highway, also known as the European transit route E-60 – the continent’s second-longest transport corridor, stretching from Brest, France, to Irkeshtam on the border of Kyrgyzstan and China. In Georgia, the E-60 runs for 392 kilometers, from Azerbaijan’s border to the Black Sea coast.
The project, which cost about GEL 2.6 billion (roughly USD 968 million), was financed through loans from the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
Irakli Kobakhidze described the project as “unprecedented” in Georgia’s infrastructure history, citing its engineering, geological, and technical complexity. He said the route shortens the distance by eight kilometers and roughly halves travel time, making journeys “faster, safer and more comfortable.”
He added that more than 4,000 people were employed during the construction, most of whom were Georgian citizens.
“Our main task is to strengthen our country’s transit function, connectivity function, and, naturally, this project is also of special importance for our country from this perspective,” he further said.
Construction began in 2019 and was initially scheduled for completion in 2023. The project was divided into four sections, each awarded to a Chinese contractor. The Chumaleti–Khevi section (11.7 km) was built by China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), Khevi–Ubisa (12.2 km) by Hunan Road & Bridge Construction Group; Ubisa–Shorapani (13 km) by China Road and Bridge Corporation; Shorapani–Argveti (14.7 km) by a consortium including Guizhou Highway Engineering Group and China National Technical Import & Export Corporation.
Several of the companies involved in the construction drew international scrutiny in the past. Local watchdog Civic Idea reported that the China State Construction Engineering Corporation was blacklisted and China Road and Bridge Corporation was sanctioned by the World Bank over fraudulent and collusive practices linked to road projects in the Philippines. Hunan Road & Bridge Construction Group was also linked to a deadly bridge collapse in China in 2009.
In Georgia, workers complained about poor working conditions and staged several strikes. There were also fatal incidents: a Georgian citizen died during construction work in June 2023, followed by the death of a Chinese citizen in August 2023.
Georgian Dream Infrastructure Minister Revaz Sokhadze also spoke at the event, acknowledging delays while noting that questions had persisted around the project.
“But most importantly, at Rikoti – where every passerby watched the construction and where challenges became part of daily life – there was the courage, labor, and endurance of countless people,” he said.
Delays, Concerns
The Rikoti Highway project’s delayed and troubled construction history has raised persistent questions about planning quality, oversight, and long-term sustainability.
The project was repeatedly slowed by landslides and geological instability, particularly in 2023, when heavy rains and seasonal weather triggered multiple slope failures along the Khevi-Shorapani section. Traffic was intermittently restricted or halted, especially during the winter months amid snowfall and rainfall.
Geologists and infrastructure specialists have questioned whether the risks were adequately assessed before construction began. A journalistic investigation by the local iFact outlet argued that landslide processes along the route were exacerbated by superficial pre-construction studies, particularly regarding hydrogeological conditions.
As Georgia seeks to promote itself as a transit hub under the Middle Corridor project, authorities last week also inaugurated the completed railway modernization project, another infrastructure initiative officials say strengthens the country’s role in regional and intercontinental transport corridors.
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The post Rikoti Highway Completed as Georgian Dream Hails ‘Project of the Century’ first appeared on The South Caucasus News – SouthCaucasusNews.com.
The post Rikoti Highway Completed as Georgian Dream Hails ‘Project of the Century’ first appeared on The World Web Times – worldwebtimes.com.
