Georgian PM: claiming gov't doesn’t want Anaklia port is cheap, irresponsible
PM Mamuka Bakhtadze says that linking TBC case with the $2.5 billion Anaklia deep sea port project is absolutely irresponsible. Photo: Anaklia Development Consortium.
Tweet 
Share
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze says that statements [by the opposition and others] that the Georgian Dream government does not want the Anaklia deep sea port to be constructed are the “cheap and irresponsible political speculations."
Bakhtadze stated at a briefing earlier today that the project has huge importance and he himself as the head of the Georgian railway, then later as the minister of finance and the prime minister, has provided much effort to pull the project through.
He said there are some people who are trying to link the project with the money laundering investigation involving top figures of TBC Bank.
The project is of strategic importance for us, and moreover, it is part of our strategy and the vision to turn Georgia into a regional hub, in terms of transport and logistics among them. The government has done its utmost for project to become a priority for the world leading institutions,” Bakhtadze said.
Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze said that he was personally involved in the negotiations around the Anaklia deep sea port. Photo: Prime Minister's press office.
He stated that it is very important that the European Union has included the project in the priority list of the trans-European transport network.
Taking all this into account I want to ask a very logical question: how one can dare and say that the government is not interested in the construction of the port? It is one of the cheapest speculations I have heard lately,” Bakhtadze said.
Bakhtadze stated that different political forces are trying to make the TBC case political, which is a “very irresponsible action.”
He stated that the National Bank of Georgia, which brought sanctions against TBC Bank last month due to the transaction made in 2007-2008, has high ethical standards and impartiality and “this is confirmed by international institutions.”
Bakhtadze stated that it was impossible for him to make a serious comment regarding the letter TBC Bank founder Mamuka Khazaradze claimed he had received from Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia.
The content of the letter leaves no room to comment it seriously,” Bakhtadze said and added that the any member of the Cabinet of Ministers is always ready to answer to the legislators’ or investigators’ questions if such exist.
TBC Bank founder Mamuka Khazaradze stated earlier that the "ongoing attack on him and the bank" could be related to the Anaklia project, in which the TBC Holding is one of the major players.
Bakhtadze said Gakharia, as a business ombudsman, was very active to help the businesses which suffered losses and pressure under the United National Movement government.
Bakhtadze also touched upon the recent statement of the Fresco market chain founder Vasil Sopromadze, who accused the current government of pressuring business.
“This is a very serious accusation. One must provide evidence for this or be held accountable,” Bakhtadze said.
If he [Sopromadze] has evidence I will be the first to demand the fastest investigation,” Bakhtadze said.
Bakhtadze said that international ratings name Georgia as the world leader country in terms of doing business.
I can name the sixth position in the Doing Business rating,” Bakhtadze said.
“The ratings speak more than those people who very often make politically grounded statements,”Bakhtadze said.
The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office has published the letter claimed by TBC Bank founder Mamuka Khazaradze to contain threats from Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia.
TBC Bank Founder Mamuka Khazaradze says that he has sent a letter he claimed he received from Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia and which allegedly included threats against him and TBC Bank, to London to be studied, while a copy has been handed to the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office.
The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office has dismissed a statement made yesterday by TBC Bank founder Mamuka Khazaradze that he had informed prosecutors regarding the“threatening letter” he received from Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia ahead of the second round of Georgian presidential elections in November 2018.
The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office has released new details regarding the high profile money laundering case involving TBC Bank founders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze.
Georgian Infrastructure Minister Maia Tskitishvili says that there is no connection between the Anaklia deep sea port project and the ongoing money laundering investigation involving the founders of TBC Bank. She says that Anaklia Consortium, had faced problems in attracting funds for the 2.5 billion USD project before the investigation was launched involving TBC Bank.
Georgian Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure Maya Tskitishvili says international financial institutions have eight demands that should be fulfilled in order to invest in the project. Tskitishvili said that the investors demand a feasibility study of each phase and say that the port development should not be linked to any specific date and should start only after the feasibility study is done.
The Anaklia Development Consortium has published a statement responding to yesterday’s speech of the Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Maya Tskitishvili in parliament, where she said that investors in the project have eight demands before moving forward.
Anaklia Deep Sea Port project has once again become the topic of discussion, the main question now being whether the Georgian government is considering backing out of an agreement signed with the Anaklia Development Consortium in 2016.
One of the largest construction companies in Europe, French company Eiffage, will be the key contractor of the Anaklia Development Consortium to carry out the first phase of construction work of the Anaklia Deep Sea Port with Swiss ABB and Georgian CRP, IPN cites the Anaklia Development Consortium as saying.
“The government has stated many times and I repeat that the Anaklia Port is not the project of some individual or a consortium, it is a strategically important project and the government does its best for its construction. We need the deep-sea port to increase Georgia’s transit capability and boost the state economy,” Chugoshvili said.
TBC Bank founders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze have stated that they will leave top managerial posts in the Anaklia Development Consortium to “protect the Anaklia Port project and end speculations.”Khazaradze chairs the managing council of the consortium, which is tasked to attract funds for the $2.5 billion port construction, while Japaridze is his deputy.
The founder of one of Georgia’s leading banks TBC Mamuka Khazaradze, who faces money laundering charges, says that his return to business is “very unlikely,” as he has “big political goals.”
The term given to Anaklia Development Consortium by the government, a state-tender winner to build a deep-sea port in Anaklia, western Georgia, to attract 520 million USD from a potential investor and four international banks, has expired today. The statement released by the consortium earlier today reads the "necessity and the lack of governmental support."