Tbilisi Vice Mayor Giorgi Tkemaladze has addressed concerns surrounding the Chinese state-owned railway manufacturer CRRC, whose products will be supplied to the city as part of a major metro modernization initiative. Speaking to journalists, Tkemaladze dismissed the idea that the deal poses any immediate threat, calling such concerns "politically motivated."
The comments follow the announcement that GT Group has won the international tender to supply 111 new metro cars to Tbilisi. The cars will be manufactured by CRRC, one of the world’s largest railway equipment producers. The deal, valued at EUR 150 million, was officially signed on Thursday.
Questions were raised by reporters about the potential risks associated with CRRC, citing a U.S. Department of Defense list that categorizes the company as being involved in military production, as well as an ongoing European Commission probe into its reliability.
Tkemaladze responded firmly:
“There is no threat at this stage. If sanctions are imposed, then we will talk. But discussing hypothetical scenarios now is not serious. This is an international tender that followed all appropriate procedures, including evaluations of quality, pricing, and experience. CRRC has a long track record and supplies products to many countries. Their reliability and quality are not in question.”
He added that the city hall followed all legal and procurement standards in awarding the tender and emphasized the importance of delivering modern, comfortable metro service to the people of Tbilisi.
“What are we supposed to do—deprive the citizens of Tbilisi of this significant improvement in public transport just because there’s speculation about potential sanctions?”
Addressing comparisons to the earlier case involving Russian company "Metrovagonmash", Tkemaladze highlighted that the tender process was immediately suspended once the threat of sanctions became real.
“At the time, "Metrovagonmash" fully met all international criteria—quality, pricing, experience—but once the issue of sanctions came up, we halted the process. If we hadn’t, then we’d be facing criticism for ignoring due process.”
Tkemaladze concluded by congratulating Tbilisi residents, noting that the addition of the 111 metro cars would soon lead to a more comfortable and efficient transportation system.
“This is a big step forward. Our metro will soon serve more passengers and offer a significantly improved commuting experience,” - Tkemaladze said.
