TBILISI, July 30 – The Asian Development Bank has approved a USD 250 million loan to finance nearly 19 kilometers of the planned Tbilisi bypass motorway, a missing link in Georgia’s east-west road network.
The loan will support two sections of four-lane motorway between Tbilisi International Airport and Rustavi, an industrial city south of the capital. The project also includes new and upgraded access and service roads.
The bypass is intended to divert local and international traffic away from central Tbilisi, and form part of the East-West Highway and CAREC Corridor 2, a trade route linking Central Asia with Europe.
A Tbilisi bypass has been discussed for years. Work on an earlier version of the project began before the 2012 change of government but was halted. The current plan covers a 49-kilometer bypass divided into several sections.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said in June that work on section 2 and 3 would begin in 2026 and finish in 2030. Section 4 and 5, now backed by the ADB loan, are scheduled to begin in early 2027 and be completed by the end of 2029. The government says the entire bypass should be ready in 2030.
The project comes as Georgia continues a long-term upgrade of its motorway network. The government said recently that 389 kilometers of expressway is already open, with work continuing on another 60 kilometers. Recent and current projects include the East-West Highway through the Rikoti Pass, the Samtredia-Grigoleti road, the Kobuleti and Batumi bypasses, the Kvesheti-Kobi mountain highway and a planned road linking Anaklia port to the national network.
ADB has provided more than USD 2.3 billion for Georgian road projects, including sections of the East-West Highway and the Kobuleti, Batumi, Kvesheti-Kobi and Batumi-Sarpi projects.
The bypass will also strengthen connections around the capital’s eastern logistics zone. A new dry port near Tbilisi Airport links road and rail freight with Georgia’s Black Sea ports, while the planned motorway will give trucks a faster route around the capital.
Investments in these logistics projects are intended to improve Georgia’s position on the Middle Corridor, the trade route between Asia and Europe through the South Caucasus.
