Georgian PM announces plans for “modern” terminal at Mestia Airport in north-west
A new terminal will be built at the Queen Tamar Airport in north-western Georgia’s highland town of Mestia to increase domestic tourism potential, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told a Government meeting on Monday. Photo: Gov't Administration
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A new terminal will be built at the Queen Tamar Airport in north-western Georgia’s highland town of Mestia to increase domestic tourism potential, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told a Government meeting on Monday.
Kobakhidze added Green Studio company had been selected to build the terminal in the town in the Svaneti region, adding the facility would meet “modern standards”.
The development of domestic airports and regional traffic is important for us. Tourist flows in the country are increasing, and we have very good dynamics. The first quarter was also very good [...] [where] we had an 11 percent increase [year-on-year] in the number of visitors”, he told the weekly meeting.
We hosted more than 1,300,000 visitors, of which one million were tourists, so we need to develop the infrastructure in order to create maximum conditions for tourists in Georgia”, the Government head added.
Artist impression for new terminal. Photo: Ministry of Economy
He also noted development of domestic airports was “essential to promote internal mobility”, including for the promotion of travel between regions and cities.
For this, a new terminal will be built at Mestia Airport [...] As you all know, Svaneti [and] Mestia are two of the most attractive tourist regions - therefore the new terminal will help further increase the number of tourists in Svaneti, and will contribute to the development of the region as a whole, raising the level of well-being for the local population”, Kobakhidze said.
The new terminal will include food facilities, shopping spaces and “all relevant services”, he added.
The Ministry of Economy said the construction of the facility would start this year and be completed in 2025.
Artist impression. Photo: Ministry of Economy
Kobakhidze also said the Government would continue to work “more actively” to promote the development of tourism potential in the country.
A new terminal is also planned for Telavi Airport in the eastern region of Kakheti, as part of a project that also includes renovation of the existing runway to extend it to 1.7 km, as well as modern navigation systems and a new navigation tower.
The PM earlier this month also announced a new international airport would be built near the capital city of Tbilisi.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday said revenues from international tourism were expected to reach $4.5 billion this year, while Georgian airports would serve 6.8 million passengers.
Mariam Kvrivishvili, the Deputy Minister of Economy of Georgia, on Monday said the country had received over 1.3 million international travellers in the first three months of the year.
A new international airport will be built near Georgia’s capital city of Tbilisi, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced during a weekly Government meeting on Monday.
The Ministry of Economy on Thursday announced Khmaladze Architects, an architecture office firm based in Tbilisi, had won the competition for designing the new terminal of Telavi Airport, earmarked for Georgia’s eastern region of Kakheti.