Georgia Seeks Railway Renewal with World Bank, ADB Help

The Government of Georgia is in talks with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to secure new funding for the country's logistics sector, focusing especially on railway modernization and key infrastructure projects.

On December 17, Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili and Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili met with Roland Price, the World Bank’s Regional Director for the South Caucasus, and Anders Peterson, Deputy Director of the ADB’s Georgia office, The Caspian Post reports citing Georgia Today.

Ministry of Economy stated that the talks centered on funding the purchase of new locomotives and railway wagons for Georgian Railway, as well as financial support for constructing the access road to the Anaklia deep-sea port.

As part of broader railway reforms, the Georgian government expects to receive a total of GEL 325 million in loan financing from the World Bank and ADB in 2026. The planned funding is evenly split between the two institutions, with GEL 162.5 million allocated from each. This financing is already reflected in the draft state budget for next year.

In parallel with these efforts, on December 15, Deputy Economy Minister Tamar Ioseliani and Georgian Railway CEO Lasha Abashidze held talks with the regional director of the French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom. Discussions focused on modernizing Georgia’s locomotive and wagon fleet. Alstom’s nearest production facility is located in Kazakhstan.

The need for renewal is emphasized by Georgian Railway’s own data. Of the company’s 91 locomotives, 78% were manufactured more than 35 years ago and none are younger than 20 years. The situation is similar for passenger rolling stock where 53% of the 19 train sets are over 35 years old. These figures show the urgency of fleet modernization as part of Georgia’s broader transport and logistics development strategy.