Georgia Cancels Tender for Highway Linking Armenia and Azerbaijan Border Crossings

By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk

Georgia has cancelled the tender procedure for several sections of a planned highway corridor in the country’s south designed to connect road links running toward the Armenian and Azerbaijani borders, according to procurement notices published by the Georgian Roads Department.

The cancelled procedures cover multiple segments of the corridor, including the Algeti–Araflo and Araflo–Sadakhlo construction lots, along with related supervision tenders tied to the same route.

In the cancellation notice for the construction packages, the Roads Department said the procedure had been halted due to low competition among bidders. A separate cancellation notice covering the supervision contract said the tender requirements would need to be revised before the process could continue.

The cancelled lots form part of a larger road corridor in southern Georgia running from the Rustavi area toward the Red Bridge and Sadakhlo border crossings, which connect the country to Azerbaijan and Armenia respectively.

The project had been planned as a four-lane highway stretching more than 60 kilometres in total and was expected to be implemented in several construction packages. Georgian infrastructure planning documents had also linked parts of the corridor to international financing, including support from the European Investment Bank.

The cancellation carries regional significance because the road had been presented as part of Georgia’s effort to strengthen transit links across the South Caucasus. Government statements earlier this year framed the broader corridor as a connection running from Türkiye’s border through Georgia toward Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In February, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said Georgia aimed to complete the road linking Türkiye with Armenia and Azerbaijan by the end of 2030 as part of the country’s wider infrastructure and transit strategy.

For now, the official procurement notices provide the clearest explanation for the decision. They point to low competition in the construction tender and the need to revise the tender documentation for supervision services. What remains unclear is whether the cancellation represents a technical reset of the procurement process or a longer delay in the corridor’s implementation.