“The railway line serving the Anaklia Deep Sea Port involves the construction of a total of 18 km of entirely new railway infrastructure,” said Lasha Abashidze, Director General of Georgian Railway.

According to Abashidze, the World Bank will finance the project.

“A market survey has already been announced for the railway link to the Anaklia Deep Sea Port. This is a rather important project for Georgian Railway and involves building an 18-km section of entirely new railway infrastructure that will connect the Anaklia Port to our existing main line. The project will be financed with World Bank support, and all procurement procedures will also be carried out with World Bank support,” Lasha Abashidze said.

Abashidze also elaborated on Georgian Railway’s rolling stock renewal.

“We have already begun renewing the rolling stock at Georgian Railway. This covers both freight wagons and passenger trains,” he said.

The Director General noted that 200 new freight wagons have already been purchased, around 60 of which have arrived in Georgia, with all 200 due to arrive by the end of the year.

“It is important to note that we made this purchase directly from the manufacturer, without the involvement of any intermediary companies, so to speak. In general, I believe it is right that Georgian Railway should carry out such important projects and buy directly from the manufacturing plants,” the head of Georgian Railway said.

On passenger transport, Abashidze stated that Georgian Railway is expected to add ten new trains to its fleet shortly. In addition, five passenger trains are already undergoing major overhaul and modernisation. As a result, he said, Georgian Railway will operate its passenger services entirely with new, modern trains.

“Recently, we have carried out quite significant optimisation at the railway, both in operations and in procurement. That is precisely what has enabled us to launch and fund these projects. These savings will go entirely to Georgian Railway and to the projects we have already started,” the Director General of Georgian Railway said.