Georgia: The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Mariam Kvrivishvili, together with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, took part in the event of signing an agreement between the Union of Airports of Georgia and the member of French Groupe ADP “Tav Georgia”, according to which the company will continue to operate until the end of 2031.
As Mariam Kvrivishvili noted in her speech, with the agreement signed, an important stage of development of Tbilisi International Airport will start – the French ADP Group will invest around 150 million US dollars in the infrastructure development of the Tbilisi International Airport.
“The aviation sector makes a significant contribution to the development of our country’s transport and logistics, tourism, and economy. The top priority of our government is to strengthen the said industry, develop aviation infrastructure, and provide new direct flights. This agreement reaffirms the strategic choice of the State of Georgia – to develop civil aviation based on a strong institutional framework, clear responsibilities, and a reliable international partnership, – said the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development.
During her speech, Mariam Kvrivishvili emphasized that in the aviation sector, in 2025, Georgia will have a historic high in five key directions: airlines, direct destinations, flight frequencies, passengers, and tourist visits. 77 airlines, 125 direct flights from all three international airports of the country.
“The increase in direct flights promised a historic result – all three international airports served 8.5 million passengers and more than 37,000 flights.” This represents an increase of 14% in passenger numbers and 16% in flights compared to the year 2024 “Yes, the development of the aviation sector is in direct proportion to the sustainable and diversified development of the tourism sector – we have achieved unprecedented success in the tourism sector by 2025 – our country has hosted more than 5 million 500 thousand tourist visits,” said the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development.
In her speech, Mariam Kvrivishvili emphasized the importance of further development of the civil aviation sector and noted that in this process, cooperation with the French state-owned company of Georgia Groupe ADP under renewed terms will be fruitful for the development of both Tbilisi International Airport and the sector as a whole.
The development of the Georgian aviation sector is dynamic, sustainable, and growing rapidly. This environment is one of the prerequisites for which we decided to build a new, modern airport in Vaziani. Until the new airport starts operations from 2031, we will continue to develop the aviation sector in cooperation with the French state-owned company and with the improved conditions achieved with them,” said Mariam Kvrivishvili.
As a result of the investment, the infrastructure of Tbilisi International Airport will significantly improve, the capacity of the terminal will double, and it will exceed 10 million out of the existing 5 million passengers. As a result of the renewal, today the number of 58 airplane stands will increase to 65.
“Along with infrastructure improvements, the commercial conditions of the state have also improved – the Union of Airports of Georgia will get three times more revenue from Tbilisi International Airport annually than – today.” Also, the union of airports of Georgia will receive an additional 25 million US dollars as an advance payment of the project,” the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development said.
