MAN Truck & Bus
WITH BIOGAS THROUGH TBILISI
A matter of cleanliness Kakha Kaladze relies on MAN buses with biogas CNG propulsion to make traffic in Tbilisi more eco-friendly. © Nodar Tskhvirashvili
ENERGY TURNAROUND WITH BIOGAS
“The order was publicly advertised and we received a total of five offers,” relates Kaladze. After detailed analysis, it was clear: the award should go to MAN. “Our new buses are safe, accessible, air conditioned and comfortable for the driver and passengers” says Kaladze. “But above all, they are ecologically clean, because they run on CNG biogas.” The first buses are now rolling through Tbilisi one and a half years after the award to MAN.
The fact that the traffic transformation in Tbilisi could pick up speed so quickly is also down to the assertiveness of Kakha Kaladze. During his time as a professional footballer, the Georgian was a defender for AC Milan, won the Champions League twice with the club and learned to achieve his objectives via tactics and as part of a team. “I owe my tenacity, my ability for teamwork and my diligence to my football career,” he tell us. “And all these abilities also help me enormously in politics, especially now as mayor of Tbilisi, because this city needs a mobile, hard-working and goal-oriented government.”
Our new buses are safe, accessible, air conditioned and comfortable for the driver and passengers.
An eye for detail Kakha Kaladze examining the interior fit-out in the new buses. The citizens of Tbilisi chose the colour for the seats: green. © Nodar Tskhvirashvili
Highlights of his first career: Kakha Kaladze won the UEFA Champions League with Inter Milan in 2006 and in 2007.
Kakha Kaladze
is considered to be one of the most successful footballers in Georgia. He made his first appearance for Georgian premier league team FC Dynamo Tbilisi at the age of 16. Five years later he joined Dynamo Kiev before changing to AC Milan in 2001. Among other achievements Kaladze won the Champions League twice with AC Milan. He played in the Georgian national team for 15 years. After his career as a professional footballer, Kaladze moved into politics in 2012 and joined the party of the Georgian dream – Democratic Georgia. After five years as energy minister, in 2017 he ran for the post of Mayor of Tbilisi and won the election with 51 percent of the vote.
TRAVEL TO MUNICH FOR THE DESIGN MEETING
Seamless cooperation between Tbilisi and Munich was equally important. “MAN fulfilled all agreements and delivered the buses in a timely manner,” says Kaladze. MAN specialists also provided training for the drivers in Tbilisi. MAN employees accompanied the introduction of the buses for a total of three months. Kaladze was so satisfied that he ordered a further 90 buses from MAN this year. He travelled initially to the MAN customer centre in Munich to select the design and colour. “I had already invited all the inhabitants of Tbilisi to participate in selecting the colour for the new buses,” relates Kaladze. The decision was for green.
The MAN Lion's City buses already shipped to Tbilisi are even now ensuring less stress on the streets. Because passengers can use the extra wide doors to enter and leave the buses, the waiting times at the bus stops are shortened. The modern gas engine drives the buses quickly and cleanly through the city. And the electronic braking system with ABS, traction control and electronic stability programme all ensure a safe journey.
Although Kakha Kaladze's mission is far from finished. He tells us that almost everything in Tbilisi was destroyed after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The infrastructure, the parks, the architecture, the sights, everything was in a catastrophic condition. “That is why we are now facing challenges in all directions.”
Concrete plans are already on the table as far as traffic transformation is concerned. We have to acquire up to 750 additional new buses in the next few years to fully modernise and expand the existing bus fleet in Tbilisi. “This will naturally involve further invitations to tender”, says Kaladze. “But the previous years of collaboration with MAN have shown that with MAN we have a really reliable partner at our side.”
And this is how the first huge success could soon also be recorded in Kaladze's political career. He already knows the basis on which he wants to be measured. “If I can stand before a satisfied and grateful Tbilisi population at the end of my term, then for me that will have at least the same value as winning the Champions League.”
Text Thomas Schmelzer
Photos shutterstock/antondanilenko (Header)
