China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) announced that it has successfully completed the excavation works on the T9 tunnel, Georgia’s longest railway tunnel, built by the China Railway 23th Bureau.
The Kvishkheti-Zvare tunnel has a total length of 8.5 km, and is a double-track line, constructed in two independent tunnels, which will connect western and eastern parts of the country. The construction of the Kvishkheti-Zvare tunnel is a part of the modernization project which involves the modernisation of Tbilisi-Makhindzhauri main-line.
China Railway 23th Bureau won the EPC contract and the technical supervision is provided by a consortium comprising ILF consulting engineers and DB International. The value of the contract is CHF 260 million (EUR 226.2 million).
The construction works were launched at the end of 2011 and is the longest railway in Georgia and also the key project for Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe railway route.
The railway is 56.5 km long and the designed speed for passenger trains is 120 km/h and 80 km/h for goods train. After the completion of the project, the travel time from Tbilisi to Batumi will be shortened from currently five hours to 3 hours and 20 minutes. The freight railway transport will be increased to 100 tonnes per year.
The project is scheduled to be completed by 2020 and will be a vital rail link for neighboring countries to pass through Georgia to other countries and greatly increase the speed and capacity of existing Georgian network.
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