Georgia plans to invest nearly $400M in railway modernization for Middle Corridor

Georgia plans to allocate nearly $400 million for the further development of its railway infrastructure as part of efforts to strengthen the Middle Corridor, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Vakhtang Tsintsadze said at the Second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum (AIIF 2026) in Baku on Friday, Report informs.

According to him, prior railway modernization efforts have already reduced cargo transportation time from 24 to 12 hours. Moving forward, Georgia is planning significant additional investments in its railway network.

"We plan to invest up to 1 billion lari ($382.4 million) in railway modernization, which involves acquiring over 50 locomotives, about 10 passenger trains, as well as up to 1,500 units of transport equipment," Tsintsadze said.

He noted that another critical element in the development of the Middle Corridor is the expansion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway's capacity, which has been increased from 1 million to 5 million tons per year.

Tsintsadze also reported that 75% of the work on the East-West Highway in Georgia, which forms part of the European transit corridor E-60, has already been completed. The remaining section, which will provide seamless connectivity from the Azerbaijani border to the Black Sea coast, is scheduled for completion by 2030. Once finished, travel time from the Red Bridge to Sarpi will be cut from eight to four hours.

Additionally, he highlighted that Georgia is advancing the construction of the Anaklia deep-water port, which is slated to be commissioned starting in 2029. During its first phase, the port will have the capacity to handle up to 600,000 TEUs and 10 million tons of dry cargo.

Tsintsadze emphasized that infrastructure development should not only boost the transit capabilities of the Middle Corridor but also contribute to generating added value and creating new jobs across the countries in the region.