The President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili opened a 224km road of Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki today. Mikheil Saakashvili attended opening of the road together with the spouse Sandra Elisabeth Roelofs. The President stated that the new road will sustain social-economic development of local population and particularly their integration with the rest of Georgia.
"This was the first draft we established together with Americans, the Millennium Development Fund. This was my private request in spring, 2004. The first thing I recalled was that we needed a road that would connect Tbilisi and Akhalkalaki, Tbilisi and Turkey with each other. I think I was not mistaken. It had a big economic importance, though I can state without exaggerating that this has a great political and strategic significance for Georgia.
This is really a historical day and a historical road. Most of our citizens have never passed to this direction. That is why, for the rest of Georgia this is the most significant, but relatively, less famous region. During these years, particularly since Georgia has gained its independence, practically this region was broken from the rest of Georgia. Before this, Georgian governments have done much in order the region not to have been isolated and ignored.
Since 2004 everything has been changed and from now on the working process will be fast and well-done. The situation there has already been sharply improved, integration and their economic development is going rapidly. I would like to express sincere gratitude to the US government in the name of our people. Americans have spent much more time on constructing this road than we would need, but they were building it carefully. Each meter, degree of the road and correspondence with the international standards was being checked. In the future this will be the standard for any new road in Georgia. Hence, this road does not have the unique significance of connecting the centre and the region or the border, but it was also a big building school for our builders,"- President of Georgia claimed.
Mikheil Saakashvili also commented on the new road movement orders, which envisages limitation of tinted glasses for vehicles after November 10, and from December 1- the necessity of usage security seat-belts.
"Now I am riding my mother's automobile and you can notice that its glasses have never been tinted. First, when the law on tinted 
glasses had been admitted, I even could not understand why the limitation of tinted glasses was urgent. I thought much about this and together with Vano Merabishvili have agreed on such standards which would cause a problem for no one. If we think thoroughly, people have tinted glasses only in backward countries. In normal, developed countries no one rides an automobile with darkened glasses - this is neither fashionable, nor a positive sign. Now we will ride to Akhalkalaki with tightened seat-belts."- Saakasvili noted.
A newly-built road goes up to Armenia and Turkey. It is significant that instead 7-8 hours that were needed for arriving from Tbilisi to Akhalkalaki, now 2 and a half hours will be enough. Along the road 200. 000 trees were planted. On road building more than 3 000 people were employed. $209 million was spent on rehabilitation of the road which was fully financed by the US government and the Millennium Development Fund.