Russia closed the Verkhny Lars checkpoint on the border with Georgia for reconstruction in July 2006 for an indefinite period. The South Caucasus state protested against the move, saying it was an "unfriendly act."
"The construction of an international automobile checkpoint, Verkhny Lars, to include the erection of administrative buildings and the improvement of approach roads, will be concluded by late 2008," Alexander Solod said.
Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze earlier said the Verkhny Lars checkpoint would start operating in the near future.
The Verkhny Lars checkpoint has been a source of occasional conflicts between Russia and Georgia, the most serious of which occurred in the 1990s, when Russian border guards moved to curb spirit smuggling into the country.
