Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Friday that work on the Anaklia railway connection project was ongoing, adding that a new 18-kilometre railway section was planned at an estimated cost of $200 million, with support from the World Bank.

Kobakhidze noted that the construction tender would be announced by the end of this month.

“When we nominated Ms. Mariam Kvrivishvili as Deputy Prime Minister, I delivered a detailed presentation on the changes implemented in the economic sector. The discussion focused primarily on changes made over the past year and a half, and Georgian Railway was a key component of that presentation. This is hardly surprising, given the exceptionally large number of significant changes implemented within the railway system during this period”, the Prime Minister said.

“Mr. Lasha Abashidze was appointed head of Georgian Railway last May, and since then, fundamental changes have taken place within the company. Its commercial and operational management processes have been completely overhauled. Inefficient spending has been cut, resource management has improved, and optimisation efforts have resulted in savings of ₾190 million ($73 million)”, he continued.

Kobakhidze added that the process was ongoing, with further significant changes expected by the end of the year.

The Prime Minister also highlighted that, according to data for the first nine months of this year, Georgian Railway’s net profit had doubled compared with the same period last year.

“This is a fact that speaks for itself. Naturally, these savings will be fully reinvested in the development of Georgian Railway”, he concluded.