Recently, the construction of Barekamutyun bridge started across the Debed River at Sadakhlo-Bagratashen state border, as reported by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. At what stage are the construction works? “At present, work is underway on concreting the preparatory layer of the first coastal pillar, as well as excavation work on drilling, concreting and access roads of the first intermediate pillar,” the Road Department SNCO informed us. It is planned to build two parallel bridges, each with two pedestrian crossings and a sidewalk. “The construction of new bridge is a joint project of two countries - the Republic of Armenia and Georgia. When designing the bridge, the best international experience was used, and the construction norms and standards of the two countries were combined, which will ensure high quality, high degree of use of this infrastructure for many years,” said the Road Department SNCO. The bridge is equipped with outdoor lighting and drainage system. Construction work should be completed within 12 months, that is, in April 2022, the bridge should be commissioned. The construction of the bridge is financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the governments of Armenia and Georgia, and coordinated by Joint Armenian-Georgian Intergovernmental Commission. As a reminder, on February 15, 2018, we wrote about the construction of Barekamutyun bridge, for which an international tender was held. 7 organizations participated, 3 of which were shortlisted. As a result, the winner of the international competition was the Iranian construction company Ariana Tunnel Dam Co., which will provide warranty service for another two years after the bridge is put into operation.

UNStudio just officially unveiled Georgia's new Kutsai International Airport after two years of design and construction. The airport has actually been open and in operation since September 2012, but it reached full completion this month. The radically innovative and modern building features a daylight-filled transparent canopy, a pulsing LED tower that reacts to wind conditions, and a wide variety of green building strategies. Kutaisi is projected to become the gateway to Georgia in the near future, with up to a million travelers passing through in 2014-2015. The architecture of the terminal emulates the large open spaces and high ceilings of the great railways stations of the past, according to lead designer, Ben van Berkel. A clear, undulating structure provides a transparent and protective umbrella over the terminal. Passengers flow in and out of this transparent terminal while enjoying stunning views of the surrounding landscape. The terminal includes a cafe and a gallery that will showcase the country's best and brightest artists and innovators. Kutaisi Airport also features a 55-meter "pulsing tower" that serves as a beacon and focal point for the airport. The exterior of the tower is clad with a perforated skin over a concrete core. LED lights in-between the skin and the concrete core create the tower's beacon effect at dusk and dawn. The lights change color when there is fluctuation in wind speed, creating constant visual interest during the dark hours. The airport uses several innovative green building strategies. A large on-site underground water source is used for sprinkler basins, and pipes carry water through the floors of the terminal and the traffic control tower to maintain a comfortable temperature in the two buildings through radiative heating and cooling. Large cantilevered roofs on the south and southwest sides provide shade and reduce the heat load on the building. A hybrid low pressure ventilation system keeps energy consumption low, and there is a gray-water collection system in the floor underneath the terminal building. The terminal's next step is to establish a recycling system as part of its daily operations.

The construction work of president Saakashvili's favorite project "Lazika city" has officially been launched. According to Georgiatoday, on September 27 Saakashvili opened the city's first building, an administrative center, which will serve for port and city administrations. During the ceremony Saakashvili spoke about the economic development of the area, stating that foreign investors will come and invest in the construction of Lazika. Georgian president also added that Lazika will be the largest city in the Black Sea coast of the country. Lazika project located south to Anaklia, a sea resort right to the south of breakaway Abkhazia and north of Kulevi. Currently, Batumi and Poti ports can only accommodate maximum 250 containers. It is expected that Lazika port will receive its first freighters in autumn 2014. Saakashvili unveiled the project last year. Ten years from now, President Mikheil Saakashvili said, Lazika will be Georgia's second-largest city after Tbilisi, which has a population of about 1.5 million, and a leading Black Sea trading hub. The government of Georgia has already been in talks with several large investment groups in Asia and Europe to attract interest from investors. ? Much criticism has been voiced regarding to the project, with many of them also pointing out the potential to harm the flora and fauna of the Kolkheti National Park, which lies adjacent to the selected area.? According to Commersant, if "Georgian Dream" coalition comes into power, it is not going to continue to build Lazika. The construction of the new city is planned between Anaklia and Kulevi. Kolkheti National Park is located in this territory. Caucasus Environmental Network announces that the construction of the new city will be a threat to Kolkheti National Park. Besides, negotiations regarding construction of hotels in Lazika are being held with several groups of investors. P.S. During the parliamentary elections of Georgia on October 1, 2012, won "Bidzina Ivanishvili's - Georgian Dream" which collected 55.08% of elector's voices.

After Azerbaijan and Turkey signed an inter-governmental agreement in Istanbul on construction of Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) on June 26, Georgia started talking about another Nabucco rival project. According to local mass media, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Grigol Vashadze announced that Georgia is ready to implement AGRI (Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector) pipeline construction project, which will supply gas from the Caspian region to Europe bypassing Russia. He also added that although Nabucco is fundamentally important project, its implementation is postponed from year to year. So Georgia offers AGRI, as it is much cheaper and much faster to carry out than Nabucco. In 2010, the presidents of Azerbaijan, Romania and Georgia signed a memorandum on implementation of the project. The AGRI is a proposed project to transport Azerbaijani natural gas to Romania and further to Central Europe. Natural gas would be transported by pipeline from Azerbaijan to the Black Sea coast of Georgia. The liquefied natural gas export terminal (LNG plant) would be built. Liquefied natural gas will be transported by LNG tankers to the Constan?a terminal in Romania. After regasification natural gas will be delivered through the existing gas grid to Romania and other European countries. According to business newspaper "Vzgliad", the prospects for Nabucco are vague, as it is too expensive. It was found that the project cost will be US$ 19 billion instead of planned 10 billion. In addition, it simply had nothing to fill, as pipeline from Azerbaijan to Europe will carry 10 billion cubic meters gas a year. This is only a third of the Nabucco capacity. So project managers decided to reduce the pipeline length of almost three times. Short version of Nabucco will be about 1300 kilometers long, and it will run across the 4 countries starting from Turkish-Bulgarian border to Austrian Baumgarten city. However Russian experts believe that AGRI Implementation chances are quiet low, because of low capacity. According to analyst Gregory Birg, AGRI project cost less than the main alternatives are considered, and may be about US$ 2-5 billion to build, depending on capacity, which may vary from 2 to 8 billion cubic meters a year. At the same time the cost of the "South stream" can reach US$ 20-25 billion (63 billion cubic meters) and the construction of Nabucco(31 billion cubic meters), according to some estimates, may be only a little cheaper.

On April 21 billionaire Donald Trump will visit Georgia, told Silk Road Group representative during his interview to News-eorgia. The purpose of the visit is a presentation of Trump's Batumi new project. As we reported earlier, on March10th last year, during the visit of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to New York, the Trump Organization and the Georgian company Silk Road Group signed a protocol of intent to develop two Trump managed skyscrapers in Georgia, one in Batumi and another in Tbilisi. The start of construction is scheduled in 2013 and would be overseen by the Silk Road Group, one of the largest private investment companies in the region and the Trump Organization partner for the project. The deal, which the partners estimate about US$ 250-300 million, calls for two projects. The Trump Tower in Batumi would be a part of a planned by Silk Road complex that includes a casino, an exhibition hall and a marina. The residential buildings will each contain 100 apartments and rise nearly 40 stories - average by New York standards, but nearly twice the size of the republic's tallest structures.