NEW BRIDGE TO LINK TROUBLED CAUCAUSUS INAUGURATED

26 January 1996

Press Release
WFP/1027*

NEW BRIDGE TO LINK TROUBLED CAUCAUSUS INAUGURATED

19960126 ROME, 25 January (WFP) -- The World Food Programme's Director inaugurated Thursday a railway bridge in the southern Caucausus that has come to symbolize unusual regional cooperation in the war-torn region.

The WFP Executive Director, Catherine Bertini travelled to Georgia to formally open the $400,000 Natanebi bridge, located 60 kilometres from the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi. The newly built bridge, a WFP initiative, replaces one that was wrecked in a train derailment in early 1994, and provides the only rail link between Batumi port and the Caucasian hinterland.

Since fighting in Abkhazia and Chechnya cut off rail and sea shipments from other parts of the former Soviet Union, the two Georgian ports on the Black Sea -- Batumi and Poti -- are the only means of shipping food supplies to the three countries. Turkey has sealed its border with Armenia because of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In a rare show of regional cooperation, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia each provided $50,000 in cash or materials for the building of the bridge, while WFP provided $250,000 from a United States donation. Despite nearly eight years of strife between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, the WFP initiative brought the two countries together with Georgia to help construct the new bridge.

Work on the bridge began in June 1995. Construction was completed in five months. The bridge opened in early December, 1995, and is now used to carry much needed food and fuel to the three countries.

Beside providing US$23 million worth of emergency food aid to Georgia, WFP also mobilized $15.2 million for emergency rehabilitation of the region's derelict railways, ports and communication networks from United States, Netherlands, United Kingdom and Switzerland. Ms. Bertini is on her first official visit to Georgia. During the visit she is expected to meet President Eduard Shevardnadze and other senior government officials.

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_----------_ * Press Release WFP/1045 dated 10 January, should have been numbered WFP/1025.