Provision of a sovereign loan to Georgia to co-finance the construction of the Tskere-Kobi tunnel (EBRD Project), which forms part of the Kvesheti-Kobi road section (the Project), located on the Jinvali-Larsi Road (North-South Corridor).
The central section of the corridor connecting Kvesheti to Kobi needs to be fully realigned. The existing 35-km road is unsafe, experiences heavy traffic, and is difficult to maintain in winter, resulting in road closure for extended periods during winter. A new 23-km bypass road from Kvesheti to Kobi will be built to allow more traffic to travel on it safely, and will remain fully operational all year; it will also provide 5km of all-weather rural roads that will serve roadside villages. The Project will include five tunnels with a total length of about 11.6 km (the longest of which is about 9 km), and six bridges with a total length of about 1.6 km.
The project will improve the connectivity, access and safety on the North-South Corridor and will contribute to economic development. The project is the priority for the Government of Georgia and is part of a comprehensive road rehabilitation programme, which aims to transform Georgia into a transport, logistics and a trade hub connecting Europe and Asia, as well as providing better transit links in the Caucasus region, with emphasis on the country’s backbone for transit trade comprised of the East-West and North-South transport corridors.
