Fourth East West Highway Improvement Project

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The development objectives of the Fourth East West Highway Improvement Project for Georgia are: (i) to contribute to the gradual reduction of road transport costs and to improve road safety along the section upgraded under the project; and (ii) to strengthen the capacity of the Roads Department (RD) and the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure (MRDI) to plan and manage the road network and improve road traffic safety. The project has four components. The first component is improvement and asset management of the East-West highway. It has following five sub-components: (i) upgrading of existing East-West highway through the construction of a 2-lane dual carriageway from Agara to Zemo Osiauri; (ii) maintenance of the E60 2-lane dual carriageway between Natakhtari and Ruisi; (iii) civil works to improve road safety and access roads on the existing East-West highway between Natakhtari and Ruisi (67km) and along the existing E60 alignment between Ruisi and Chumateleti (44km); (iv) environmental improvement measures along completed sections of the E60 highway between Natakhtari and Ruisi (67km); and (v) construction supervision and quality assurance services. The second component is institutional strengthening. This component provides for the financing of activities to further deepen institutional strengthening efforts being carried out under ongoing bank supported projects. The activities are as follows: (a) institutional strengthening of the MRDI to help the following activities: review and updating of road sector strategy, support to the MRDI to improve road safety management capacity, support to the MRDI to improve the operating environment for the local construction industry, and measures to improve manpower planning and development in MRDI; (b) institutional strengthening of the RD to help organizational efficiency improvement and manpower planning and development measures, and development of a strategic roadmap for the development and implementation of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) along the East West highway corridor, from Tbilisi to Turkish border. The third component is preparation of designs and supporting studies for future projects for the development of the East-West highway. This component will finance activities for the definition and design of civil works included in component A of the proposed project and preparatory studies for the future westward upgrading of the E60. The planned activities include: (1) study to define the scope of the maintenance interventions along some upgraded sections of the E60 2-lane dual carriageway e.g. Natakhtari to Ruisi (67 kilometers); (2) road safety improvement studies and designs; (3) update of feasibility studies and undertaking of preliminary engineering design of new Rikoti tunnel and 60km of highway between Chumateleti and Argveta; and (4) detailed design of the new tunnel at Rikoti, preparation of bidding documents and independent review of all technical and safety provisions. The fourth component is project management. This component had two sub-components: implementation support to RD; and financial audits and project monitoring and evaluation services.