Georgian PM says alternative transport corridors do not pose threat to country

Georgia’s transit function remains strong, and alternative transport corridors do not pose a threat to the country, said on Thursday Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Kobakhidze emphasised that fears about transit competition were unfounded and largely speculative.

“We welcome the restoration of relations between our neighbours and the development of trade and economic relations between them. As for our transit function, we are making very large investments in the development of the transit function. This concerns road infrastructure, ports, airports, various types of infrastructure facilities. This is based on positive expectations regarding the constant growth of transit. I would like to give a simple indicator, which confirms that the alternative corridor does not pose a threat to Georgia - over the past five years, cargo volumes through the Middle Corridor have increased sevenfold”, the PM said.

“In such conditions, our only task is to be able to catch up with this growing cargo turnover with our infrastructure as much as possible. In conditions of such growth, the alternative corridor will only be a complement to our transit function. Therefore, all this is empty speculation. We will continue to maximize investing in the development of our so-called connectivity function”, he concluded.