The tender process was launched in in September and calls for the delivery of the first two trains by December 2020. The remaining eight will follow by June 2023.

TTC is funding the procurement through a €75m sovereign loan. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide €65m following the finalisation of terms earlier this month. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Green Climate Fund will provide the remaining €10m. The investment is part of the EBRD’s Green Cities initiative and a follow-on from Tbilisi’s Green City Action Plan (GCAP), which identifies areas for urgent action to address the city’s environmental challenges, one of which is air quality.

Tblisi’s metro consists of two lines, the north-south 19.6km Line 1, and the east-west 7.7km Line 2, the eastern terminus of which is at Sadguris Moedani, an interchange with Line 1 and the mainline station. Services are provided by a fleet of 170 Soviet-era metro cars, which operate as four-car trains.

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