A new 1.5-km-long section has been added to the Kvesheti-Kobi tunnel - a 9-km-long and 15-metre-wide tunnel, the largest in Georgia - as part of works on the North-South Road Corridor, the Ministry of Infrastructure said on Friday.
The Ministry said the addition meant over 8 km of the tunnel had already been dug in the first section of the project, in addition to a third tunnel, with works on others “actively underway”.
"At this stage, about 90 percent of the work is completed. The new 9-km-long tunnel will be the longest in Georgia and one of the most unique in the world”, the body added, noting the new section had been cut using hardware specially built for the purpose of the infrastructure.
The Kvesheti-Kobi road project involves construction of a two-lane, 23-km-long asphalt and concrete road, five new and one renovated bridges and five tunnels.
The road passes through a difficult geographical route and is characterised with heavy snowfalls in the winter period. The road passes through Gudauri ski resort, crosses Jvari Pass and ends at Kobi village.
