We promised Tbilisi residents the return of the tram, and today we are starting a concrete stage of fulfilling this promise. Such a statement made today the Mayor of Tbilisi.

According to Kakha Kaladze, with the signing of the contract for the design and construction of the tram line in Tbilisi, the idea has turned into a concrete deed. As he noted, the tram line will connect Didi Digomi with the “Didube” metro station, and the implementation of all 3 stages of the project will take 36 months.

“Today is truly a remarkable day for our capital, as a contract for the design and construction of the Tbilisi tram line is being signed between the Tbilisi Transport Company and EYE, a Turkish joint venture comprising Emre Ray, Yüksel, and Erk.

I remember the immense public reaction when I first announced the tram return. There was widespread joy, but also a completely natural question: when will this vision become reality? Today, we answer that very question, moving beyond rhetoric and promises into concrete action.

This holds profound significance for my team and me, because major infrastructure projects cannot be built on speeches alone; they require meticulous planning, financial backing, expert involvement, time, and, above all, the political will to see the task through to completion. Therefore, I wish first and foremost to express my gratitude to our political team, Georgian Dream, and to thank our Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, for his steadfast support.

The return of the tram carries deep symbolic resonance for Tbilisi. It marks the revival of a civic culture that was once an integral part of daily life for our older generations. Yet, we are not dwelling on the past. We are restoring the tram to build a modern transport network for Tbilisi’s future. Our transport strategy, initiated in 2017, serves precisely this purpose: to make transit across the city faster, more comfortable, safer, and accessible to all. Streets must serve pedestrians, public transport passengers, eco-transit users, and motorists equally.

We want citizens to choose public transport not because they lack alternatives, but because it is swift, comfortable, and dependable. The tram will become another vital pillar of this system. The line will connect Didi Dighomi with Didube metro station across three structured phases: conceptual design, detailed engineering, and civil construction. The combined duration of these 3 phases is 36 months, with the entire project scheduled for completion within four years once all accompanying procedures are factored in.

Naturally, a single tram line will not resolve all of Tbilisi’s transport challenges overnight, and I make no such claim. However, major transformations always begin with a single step. We intend for this line to serve as the foundation of a modern tram network and a new chapter in Tbilisi’s transit evolution. A demanding construction phase lies ahead, and a project of this magnitude inevitably brings some disruption. I want to reassure the people of Tbilisi today that my team and I will remain fully transparent at every stage, providing advance updates on construction and making every effort to minimise public inconvenience”, - said Kakha Kaladze.