The Government of Georgia decided to cancel its contract with the Anaklia Development Consortium and to launch appropriate legal procedures. The issue was the first to be discussed at Thursday’s governmental meeting.
Specifically, the causes of the decision are reported to be that the consortium was not able to secure financing loans for the evolution of the project, that’s why the Government is looking for a new investor.
It is reported that the Anaklia Development Consortium had until 31 December to reach to an agreement with the investors, as well as international banks (EBRD, OPIC, ADB, AIIB) for a loan of USD 400 million.
Maia Tskitishvili, Georgia’s Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure commented that
Georgia needs this port, so we will search for a new partner who will be able to implement this project quickly and get the results that our country needs.
Anaklia Deep Sea Port, Georgian first deep-sea container port, was expected to begin operations in 2020. The port’s designed depth was 16 meters allowing for vessels of up to 10,000 TEUs of capacity to berth at the port, with the project development consisting of 9 phases, with an aggregate investment of USD 2.5 billion.
The port was of great importance and was given strategic importance by the government, described as the future gateway for cargo being transported between China to Europe, thus restoring the historic Silk Road.
