THE STATE REPRESENTATIVE ADMINISTRATION

Today, as part of the modernization project of the Rikoti Pass Road, the first 180-meter tunnel was cut off on the Khevi-Ubisa section, near the village of Khevi. The Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia got acquainted with the working process together with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure Maia Tskitishvili and State Representative in Imereti Zviad Shalamberidze. Under the project, a total of 12.2 km of 4-lane cement-concrete road, 37 bridges and 20 tunnels will be built on the Rikoti-Khevi-Ubisa section of the Rikoti Pass Road.

Construction work is underway on 16 of the 20 tunnels under the project. On the same section, out of 37 bridges under the project, construction work is underway on 18 bridges. Among them, the construction of the longest bridge in Georgia has started, which will have 22 piers and will be 1,320 meters long. At this stage, construction works are underway on 11 piers. In total of 51.6 km of road construction is planned at Rikoti Pass, which will include 96 bridges (21.3 km in total) and 53 tunnels (34.5 km in total). The construction of the Rikoti Pass section is divided into 4 sections. Construction will be completed in 2022. Construction work is also underway on the Ubisa-Shorapan section of the Rikoti Pass. At this stage, works are underway on 12 tunnels and 21 bridges. In this section of the road, 2 tunnels will be cut in the next 2 weeks. The project envisages the construction of a 13-km four-lane cement-concrete paved road, 18 tunnels and 27 bridges on the Ubisa-Shorapani section. Work is underway to build the longest tunnel in Georgia - 1,800 meters. After the completion of the Rikoti Pass Road, the distance from the East-West Corridor will be reduced by 30 kilometers, and the travel time will be halved. If today, it takes 8 hours to walk the distance from the Red Bridge to Sarfi, at the end of the project it will take 4-4.5 hours. Within the framework of the Rikoti Pass Road Construction Project, special spaces will be arranged where the residents of the surrounding villages will be able to sell their products. Such shopping malls will be set up in Surami, Shrosha and Zestaponi. In the village of Khevi, a community center and a new kindergarten will be built.

In 2019, 5,000 people were employed on Ricotti projects. 70-80% of employees are Georgian citizens. After the start of the works on the remaining sections of the road, the number of employees will double.