World Bank and Georgia: Supporting Transport Infrastructure

videoType

dynamic-media

videoDmUrl

keyFrameImage

timestamp

00:11 I'm Joba.

00:12 Today I would like to take you on a little drive to show you one of the

00:16 most ambitious projects that we at the World

00:18 Bank have been working on here in Georgia.

00:26 Come along,

00:26 let's go.

00:39 So the East-West Highway plays an important role

00:42 in the overall middle quarter that connects Europe

00:46 and Asia.

00:47 Now if you zoom in to highlight,

00:49 the East-West Highway

00:51 specifically connects the Red Fort Bridge

00:55 through to Tbilisi all the way to Poti Port and Sarpi.

00:59 Overall,

00:59 the East-West Highway is about 410 kilometers,

01:02 of which the World Bank has financed 10.

01:05 kilometers

01:06 starting

01:07 from Tbilisi all the way to the Rikoti Pass.

01:11 Now

01:12 we are going to take you to the Rikoti Pass,

01:15 an 18 kilometer stretch of highway that is particularly complex

01:19 given the multitude of viaducts and tunnels.

01:46 So,

01:47 I think

01:48 this east-west highway has made

01:51 a number of really important contributions to Georgia.

01:55 Number one,

01:56 I think travel time.

01:57 So when I first came to Georgia,

01:59 it took about 5.5,

02:01 almost 6 hours to drive from Tbilisi all the way through to

02:04 Batumi,

02:05 and that travel time has now been reduced

02:08 to about 4,

02:09 4.5 hours.

02:10 And once the east-west Highway will be completed.

02:13 That should be about 3.5 hour travel time.

02:16 So really quite an important reduction.

02:18 The second is with respect to,

02:20 uh,

02:20 to be honest with you,

02:21 just the riskiness.

02:22 Having a second lane allows cars to pass safely.

02:27 Third,

02:28 I think the east-west highway has made a

02:30 great sort of contribution to the overall environment.

02:35 The old east-west connection essentially drove through a city like Kuri,

02:40 which means that the local population was literally

02:43 had 18 wheelers driving through the city.

02:47 And now with the Kuri bypass we can make sure that

02:50 we reduce the level of pollution in the city itself,

02:53 which has made a great contribution on overall health.

02:55 Outcomes

02:56 for the population in Kuri.

02:59 4th and finally,

03:00 the East West Highway is also supporting local entrepreneurs,

03:03 and we have a number of dedicated spots

03:07 on the highway where the local population can sell

03:10 its produce

03:12 and goods as well,

03:13 making a contribution to the local economies.

03:33 So we've arrived at the heart of the East-West

03:35 Highway project where all the work is happening,

03:37 and we have arrived in good time.

03:39 Let's go take a look.

03:47 So I'm Ali.

03:49 Tell us a little bit about where we are and more importantly,

03:52 I would love to know

03:54 this project isn't just about infrastructure,

03:56 is it?

03:57 Absolutely not.

03:58 So this section is actually the last section of the Kashori Bypass,

04:03 and as you know,

04:04 this is the 5th consecutive project that the bank is financing.

04:08 And so this includes the Kashuri Bypass and

04:11 the Rikoti section with the famous Rikoti section.

04:13 That's right,

04:14 but of course the,

04:15 the,

04:16 the project goes way beyond the infrastructure,

04:18 so

04:19 we are helping and supporting RD in strengthening its systems,

04:25 um,

04:26 particularly in terms of asset management and traffic and safety,

04:31 which is absolutely crucial as you,

04:33 as you can see,

04:35 um,

04:35 and also the project helps um.

04:38 IT systems implementation of some sort

04:41 and also

04:43 creating the enabling framework for logistics services.

04:47 So it's really about

04:48 building the capacity of the roads department within

04:51 the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure,

04:53 right?

04:54 Absolutely.

04:55 So a large part of the project is actually enhancing the capacity

04:58 of the Roads department

05:00 and it goes on in asset management,

05:02 road safety,

05:03 as well as crucial aspects of contract management.

05:08 The East West Highway project aims to

05:11 improve the East-West connectivity here in Georgia,

05:14 as well as its potential for logistics.

05:16 The project began back in 2006,

05:19 and the World Bank was in fact the first international

05:21 financial institution that stepped in to support the project.

05:24 From 2006 until now,

05:26 the World Bank has invested a total of half a billion dollars,

05:30 $527 million to be exact.

05:33 In the development of this strategic corridor,

05:35 ensuring that it's upgraded to international road standards.

05:38 We at the World Bank have played a major

05:40 role in also helping to attract other financiers,

05:42 including the development partners such as the European Investment Bank,

05:46 the Asian Development Bank,

05:47 the Asia Infrastructure and Investment Bank,

05:49 as well as the Japanese Investment Corporation Agency.

05:53 And we've collectively mobilized $2 billion in support of this project.

05:58 Together with the roads department,

06:00 we will soon be launching one more new

06:02 project aimed at extending the East-West Highway eastwards,

06:05 providing faster access to the Kakheti region

06:08 and eventually to Azerbaijan.

06:10 Overall,

06:11 some of the largest investments made by the World Bank in

06:13 Georgia over the past 30 years are focused on infrastructure,

06:17 in fact,

06:17 more than 1 billion.

06:22 From a historical and a geographic perspective,

06:24 Georgia has always,

06:26 uh,

06:26 played a very strategic role connecting North and South,

06:29 east and west,

06:31 um,

06:31 and I believe that the World Bank is making a small but important contribution

06:35 to the connectivity agenda here in Georgia.

06:39 Um,

06:39 but as I said,

06:40 we are not only providing new modern and safe infrastructure,

06:44 we are also providing job opportunities,

06:47 uh,

06:47 business opportunities,

06:49 um,

06:49 opportunities for tourists to,

06:51 uh,

06:51 see the different parts of the country,

06:53 building a modern logistics infrastructure,

06:56 and again,

06:57 we at the World Bank

06:58 are proud partners of the government

07:00 of Georgia alongside our development partners

07:03 to really contribute and add

07:05 to

07:06 Georgia.

07:07 Didi Malova.

showAllTimestamps

no

transcript

I'm Joba. Today I would like to take you on a little drive to show you one of the most ambitious projects that we at the World Bank have been working on here in Georgia. Come along, let's go. So the East-West Highway plays an important role in the overall middle quarter that connects Europe and Asia. Now if you zoom in to highlight, the East-West Highway specifically connects the Red Fort Bridge through to Tbilisi all the way to Poti Port and Sarpi. Overall, the East-West Highway is about 410 kilometers, of which the World Bank has financed 10. kilometers starting from Tbilisi all the way to the Rikoti Pass. Now we are going to take you to the Rikoti Pass, an 18 kilometer stretch of highway that is particularly complex given the multitude of viaducts and tunnels. So, I think this east-west highway has made a number of really important contributions to Georgia. Number one, I think travel time. So when I first came to Georgia, it took about 5.5, almost 6 hours to drive from Tbilisi all the way through to Batumi, and that travel time has now been reduced to about 4, 4.5 hours. And once the east-west Highway will be completed. That should be about 3.5 hour travel time. So really quite an important reduction. The second is with respect to, uh, to be honest with you, just the riskiness. Having a second lane allows cars to pass safely. Third, I think the east-west highway has made a great sort of contribution to the overall environment. The old east-west connection essentially drove through a city like Kuri, which means that the local population was literally had 18 wheelers driving through the city. And now with the Kuri bypass we can make sure that we reduce the level of pollution in the city itself, which has made a great contribution on overall health. Outcomes for the population in Kuri. 4th and finally, the East West Highway is also supporting local entrepreneurs, and we have a number of dedicated spots on the highway where the local population can sell its produce and goods as well, making a contribution to the local economies. So we've arrived at the heart of the East-West Highway project where all the work is happening, and we have arrived in good time. Let's go take a look. So I'm Ali. Tell us a little bit about where we are and more importantly, I would love to know this project isn't just about infrastructure, is it? Absolutely not. So this section is actually the last section of the Kashori Bypass, and as you know, this is the 5th consecutive project that the bank is financing. And so this includes the Kashuri Bypass and the Rikoti section with the famous Rikoti section. That's right, but of course the, the, the project goes way beyond the infrastructure, so we are helping and supporting RD in strengthening its systems, um, particularly in terms of asset management and traffic and safety, which is absolutely crucial as you, as you can see, um, and also the project helps um. IT systems implementation of some sort and also creating the enabling framework for logistics services. So it's really about building the capacity of the roads department within the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure, right? Absolutely. So a large part of the project is actually enhancing the capacity of the Roads department and it goes on in asset management, road safety, as well as crucial aspects of contract management. The East West Highway project aims to improve the East-West connectivity here in Georgia, as well as its potential for logistics. The project began back in 2006, and the World Bank was in fact the first international financial institution that stepped in to support the project. From 2006 until now, the World Bank has invested a total of half a billion dollars, $527 million to be exact. In the development of this strategic corridor, ensuring that it's upgraded to international road standards. We at the World Bank have played a major role in also helping to attract other financiers, including the development partners such as the European Investment Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Asia Infrastructure and Investment Bank, as well as the Japanese Investment Corporation Agency. And we've collectively mobilized $2 billion in support of this project. Together with the roads department, we will soon be launching one more new project aimed at extending the East-West Highway eastwards, providing faster access to the Kakheti region and eventually to Azerbaijan. Overall, some of the largest investments made by the World Bank in Georgia over the past 30 years are focused on infrastructure, in fact, more than 1 billion. From a historical and a geographic perspective, Georgia has always, uh, played a very strategic role connecting North and South, east and west, um, and I believe that the World Bank is making a small but important contribution to the connectivity agenda here in Georgia. Um, but as I said, we are not only providing new modern and safe infrastructure, we are also providing job opportunities, uh, business opportunities, um, opportunities for tourists to, uh, see the different parts of the country, building a modern logistics infrastructure, and again, we at the World Bank are proud partners of the government of Georgia alongside our development partners to really contribute and add to Georgia. Didi Malova.

showAllTranscripts

no

duration

PT7M19S

scene7File

worldbank/Geogria_East-West Highway

scene7Domain

scene7FileAvs

worldbank/Geogria_East-West Highway-AVS

title

Geogria East West Highway

description

Geogria East West Highway

showTimestampAndTranscript

yes