"We are celebrating the commissioning of a new 4-lane 27 kilometer-long fragment of a highway, which includes 65 bridges and 38 tunnels''. It was announced by Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia at the official commissioning of a 27 kilometer-long Rikoti Highway today.

According to the Head of Government of Georgia, Rikoti Highway will be 52 kilometer-long with 97 bridges and 51 tunnels.

"Dear Friends, let me greet you all! I greet and welcome ambassadors, members of the parliament and government, business owners. First and foremost, let me say that I am thrilled and overwhelmed to be taking part in the launch ceremony of a project of such significance and magnitude. 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. As of today, 261 kilometer-long fragments are commissioned, out of which 193 kilometers were built and commissioned during our governance. The Rikoti fragment was the most challenging and complex, which was and is one of the most difficult and challenging of road segments. Nevertheless, you are the witness of a 4-lane highway, which has been built and this process continues, of course. Today we are celebrating the commissioning of a new 4-lane 27 kilometer-long highway, which includes 65 bridges and 38 tunnels. I wish to also note that the launch of this new road will, of course, ease the commute for our citizens and not only them - tourists, visitors, everyone who is commuting on this road. It will also make the cargo transportation far more comfortable, thereby increasing the throughput. Let me remind you that Rikoti Highway will in total be 52 kilometers, with 97 bridges and 51 tunnels. As of today, 48 tunnels are drilled and 83 bridges - built. These are massive works, the most wide-scale project and it can be boldly said that nothing of this scale, complexity, technology has ever been done in the reality of our country" stated the Prime Minister of Georgia.

As Irakli Garibashvili noted, active works are in progress to complete the remaining fragments of the road.

"Therefore, I wish to say that we welcome the implementation of a project with such significance. Works are actively pursued. According to our plan, the Rikoti fragment of the highway will be commissioned in its entirety at the end of 2024.

Once again, let me remind you that since 2012, when we came to power, 193 kilometers out of 261 kilometer-long highways have been built and commissioned  during our governance. Works are in progress on 81 kilometers at present. In total, 16 000 kilometer-long roads have been built and rehabilitated since 2013. It is a huge volume of work. Our investment through the Road Department under the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development (MIRD) reached 6 BLN GEL, which is very important, of course. I have said before and will repeat that construction of roads and highways leads to a high pace of development and prosperity. We understand that it is a rather lengthy process and massive costs are related to these wide-scale projects. Nevertheless, you witness the transformation of the country. Country has been developing, has developed, become stronger, richer and the wealth that is created in the country will be distributed and has been distributed among the regions.

I cannot help expressing gratitude to the EU Ambassador, Resident Representatives of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WBG) - every donor agency engaged in the funding of the tremendous - and I would say a - project of the century. I wish to thank Irakli Karseladze [Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development] and his team, the Road Department, every builder, engineer, who was engaged in the implementation of this vital project. Dear Friends, construction continues, of course. I believe that it is what makes us all very happy. Every citizen of our country is happy for this development; to witness this progress; and this process continues to its completion. Thank you and I once again thank Irakli Karseladze for the implementation of such a successful project" concluded the Prime Minister of Georgia.

Attendees were also addressed by Irakli Karseladze, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Georgia; Pawel Herczynski, EU Ambassador to Georgia; Maciej Czura, Resident Representative of the EIB; Lesley Bearman Lahm, Country Director of the ADB; Rolande Pryce, Regional Director of the World Bank for the South Caucasus and Giorgi Tsereteli, Chairman of the Road Department of Georgia.

Event was attended by officials of the executive, legislative and local authorities, diplomatic corps and businesses.

Traffic has been launched on the 27 kilometer long Rikoti Highway, which is part of the East-West Highway under the international E60. A new 4-lane 27 kilometer-long road starts at Khevi Village of Kharagauli Municipality and ends at Shorapani Hamlet of Zestaponi Municipality. The Khevi-Shorapani fragment includes 65 bridges and 38 tunnels.

The new fragment on Rikoti Gorge reduces the commute by 8 kilometers lengthwise and 25 minutes - timewise. At the same time, Khevi-Shorapani has the longest bridge in Georgia with its 1362 meters, while the longest tunnel is also on this fragment with its 1640 meters. New road has all the advanced standards of road safety, including the outdoor lighting system.

Construction of Rikoti Highway, which is performed with a state-of-the-art engineering solution in a complex landscape, is unprecedented among the infrastructure projects currently implemented in Georgia.  Within the scope of the Rikoti Project, there will be 51 bridges and 97 bridges built in total. To this day, 48 tunnels have been drilled and 83 bridges - built. Construction works are implemented in parallel on the remaining bridges and tunnels.

Construction of Rikoti Gorge is divided into 4 sections: Chumateleti-Khevi, Khevi-Ubisa, Ubisa-Shorapani and Shorapani-Argveta.

Construction is implemented with financial support of the international financial institutions (IFIs): European Investment Bank (EIB), World Bank (WBG) and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Total cost of the construction works is about 2.6 BLN GEL. Project is scheduled to be completed in 2024.

Special spaces - so-called trade and merchandise squares - will be arranged at Surami, Shrosha and Zestaponi within the scope of the project, whereby the local residents will be able to sell their output in the conditions of well-functioning infrastructure and road safety.

Celebrated American, Italian, Turkish and Georgian companies worked on the blueprints of the Rikoti Highway. In total 140 specialists were engaged in the design and development works, out of which 84 were locals. The Project Team included engineers of tunnels, bridges, motorways, geologists, geo-technicians, environmental protection and road safety, as well as other disciplines.

Construction works are performed by 4 various Chinese companies that have won open tenders held with procedures of the international financial institutions (IFI), while the construction works are supervised by international oversight companies from France, Turkey, Australia and Korea with several dozen years of experience. There are 146 experienced specialists involved in the supervision of the Rikoti fragment, out of which 99 are local and 47 international experts.

Construction of Rikoti Highway employed over 10 000 people, out of which 70% are citizens of Georgia.

Development of the East-West Highway under the international E60 will promote the boosted competitiveness of the transport corridor of Georgia. Throughput of the highway will increase, along with the transit of cargo. Traffic and road safety will be improved, while the time of commute will be reduced.

About 60% of the East-West Highway (261 kilometers) is already commissioned. Construction works continue at 81 kilometers of the highway.