TBILISI, August 1. /TASS/. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan worth $415 mln for the construction of a 23-km bypass road (in Georgia’s region of Mtskheta-Mtianeti) leading to the border with Russia, the bank said in a press release on its website on Thursday.

"A high-quality road network is essential for the growth and development of Georgia, which is located at the center of transit and trade routes linking Europe and Asia," said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Mr. Werner Liepach, as quoted by the bank’s press service.

The new road construction project involves laying two-lane asphalt pavement, building six bridges and five tunnels, one of which will be up to nine kilometers long. Also it is planned to build a 500-meter arch bridge on the new road. The length of the arch of the bridge will be 300 meters.

The new road will reduce the path from 1 hour to 20 minutes, and it will be 12 kilometers shorter than the current one. Currently, about 3,500 vehicles annually use the old road. The road is narrow, with small tunnels, which often causes traffic accidents. The construction of a bypass road will increase throughput, which will positively affect Georgia’s trade volumes not only with Russia, but also with Armenia, ADB said.

Road construction is expected to begin in 2020 and to be completed in 2023. The project is estimated to cost $558.6 million, with cofinancing of $60 million anticipated from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and $83.6 million from the Government of Georgia.