The Government of Georgia has announced an international tender worth 876 million GEL for the construction of a new stadium designed to hold 70,000 spectators. The selected site for the stadium, covering 270,615 square meters, is located on Kakheti Highway, near the turnoff to Tbilisi International Airport.
The minimum distance between the plot of land and the runway of Tbilisi International Airport is 1,500 meters. Taking this into account, the government’s procurement tender documentation states that the stadium will fall within the security zone of Tbilisi International Airport, making it necessary to assess its impact on air traffic.
At the same time, the document notes that once the airport is relocated to Vaziani, such an impact will no longer exist.“The stadium project site is located within the security zone of Tbilisi International Airport, on the opposite side of the airport. In the event of the construction of Vaziani Airport, the territory of the new stadium in Vaziani will fall within the influence area of take-off and landing strips and will be located approximately 7,500–7,800 meters from the runway. Although the stadium site is significantly distant from Vaziani Aerodrome and situated in a protected zone, it will still be necessary to additionally assess the impact of stadium lighting, fireworks, lasers, drones, and other similar factors. Based on an aeronautical (aviation) study—which is not part of this technical assignment and will be conducted separately—the impact on instrument flight procedures, visual flight procedures, and the functioning of navigational aids will be determined”, reads the technical documentation published on the website of the State Procurement Agency.
Given that under the current timeline, the submission of proposals for the tender ends on September 29, and the selection/evaluation process will take at least several months, while the winning company will have 51 months (4 years and 3 months) to complete the project (2029–2030), there is a likelihood that by that time the airport will already have been relocated to Vaziani. Alternatively, the period of overlap during which both facilities operate in close proximity may last only a few years.
