Georgia’s Economy and Sustainable Development Minister, Mariam Kvrivishvili, says 2025 has been a year “full of challenges and turning points,” as the government launched a new and extensive reform wave across multiple economic and infrastructure sectors. Speaking at the ceremony marking the completion of the Georgian Railway modernization project, she emphasized that the year brought systemic changes, contract revisions, and major structural updates across state enterprises and long-term projects.
Kvrivishvili highlighted the railway modernization as one of the country’s most significant and transformative projects. The event took place at the entrance of an 8.3-km twin-track tunnel, the largest in the region. As part of the project, Georgia built completely new railway infrastructure along the mountain pass, including tunnels, bridges, stations, substations, and over 100 engineering structures. The investment volume reached 1 billion GEL, making it one of the most substantial infrastructure upgrades in the country’s transport sector.
The minister underlined that the railway remains a critical backbone of Georgia’s transport system, directly influencing the nation’s transit reliability and competitive position. She noted that improved infrastructure increases throughput capacity, reduces cross-country travel time, and strengthens Georgia’s role as a dependable connector between Europe and Asia. According to her, these advancements have already produced tangible results, with Georgia–China freight turnover growing by 40% in January–October 2025.
Kvrivishvili also stressed that railway capacity expansion, together with the development of the Anaklia deep-sea port, forms a central component of Georgia’s long-term development strategy. Without these elements, she said, the Middle Corridor, a key Eurasian transport route in which Georgia is irreplaceable, cannot function efficiently. The modernization project was implemented by Georgian Railway in partnership with China Railway 23rd Bureau Group, under the supervision of Austrian-German consortium ILF Consulting Engineers and Deutsche Bahn Engineering.
