The President of Georgia addressed the community gathered at the Tbilisi International Airport regarding the opening of construction of the new runway. The President spoke about the importance of constructing the airport in terms of development of the country. He stated that the Mestia airport has already become functional and one will open in Kutaisi, Poti, Guria, Zugdidi, Akhalkalaki and Natakhtari. As the President stated, the number of visitors has surpassed 4 million in the country, which calls for more sophistication of the aviation infrastructure. The President of Georgia noted that a new terminal will be added to the Tbilisi International Airport in two years. The runways must comply fully with international standards, according to him, because passengers get their first impression of Georgia while landing.
The Head of State also focused attention on the tariffs, and noted that the Kutaisi and Poti airports will compete importantly in this sense with the Tbilisi airport. According to him, this is also important because under the conditions of visa free travel with Europe everyone should be able to afford services of this airport and travel to Georgia.
The President of Georgia thanked managers of the “TAV Georgia” company for their contribution in the development of Georgian aviation, their work, and for employing the citizens of Georgia.
The TAV Georgia Company will make an additional investment of 64 million dollars in the Tbilisi International Airport. The runway will be widened and lengthened and its full rehabilitation will be administered while employing 700 people over the course of the 22 month project.
After reconstruction, the length of the runway will reach 3000 meters and the width 60 meters. An additional path will be paved with a length of 1,100 meters. After the completion of rehabilitation works, the Tbilisi International Airport runway will have a rating of F which means that it can host the largest aircrafts in the world such as the Boeing 748-8F, Airbus A380-800, Antonov 225 and Antonov 124. Similar runways are present in only several airports across the world. Tbilisi will be the first city in the Caucasus to obtain such a rating.