Construction of Anaklia Deep Sea Port to begin this year

Georgia is one step closer to creating a new, faster maritime corridor between China and Europe, helping to restore the historic Silk Road by building the Anaklia Deep Sea Port.

After two years of discussions, the company responsible for developing the mixed-cargo deep sea port have agreed to sign an investment agreement with the Government of Georgia yesterday.

The Anaklia Development Consortium will develop the Port on a build, operate and transfer basis, allowing larger ships to enter Georgian waters for the first time, thus expanding the country’s export potential and ability to act as a transport corridor.

A statement released by the Prime Minister’s press office announced the Anaklia Deep Sea Port project will start before the end of 2016.

The project has many phases but the important thing is that in three years the Port will start functioning and will employ thousands of people,” said PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili.

The Anaklia Port’s mission is to create a new, faster maritime corridor between China and Europe, helping restore the historic Silk Road. Photo by Agenda.ge.

Through the deal that was signed yesterday, the Anaklia Development Consortium – jointly established by TBC Holding and Conti International of the United States – will invest $2.5 billion USD in the Anaklia Deep Sea Port project.

Just over $580 million will be invested in the first phase of the project. This amount was confirmed in yesterday’s agreement so phase one would definitely go ahead, said the PM.

• Find out more about the Anaklia Deep Sea Port project in the article ‘Project of the Century: Georgia starts to build Anaklia Deep Sea Port’ by Mariam Papidze on Agenda.ge.

Transforming the current port in Anaklia into a deep sea port was a mammoth task and the development will be separated into nine phases.

Firstly, within the next three years the Anaklia Development Consortium must reach its first milestone whereby the Port must be able to handle seven million tonnes of cargo per year and start official operations.

Anaklia Deep Sea Port will have the ability to receive large vessels with a 10, 000 container capacity. Photo by the PM's press office.

Fast forward through the next phases and by the end of phase nine, Anaklia Deep Sea Port must be able to handle 100 million tonnes of cargo per year.

The investor is obliged to create a training centre for local people who later will be employed at the Port. The investor also has to create whole infrastructure, including a kindergarten, business centre and playgrounds.

$586 million will be invested in phase one alone and we can definitely say the project is being launched,” said PM Kvirikashvili.

We believe this project is an important part of our spatial arrangement plan and will completely change the transit potential and economic landscape of Georgia.”

Why is Anaklia Deep Sea Port important for Georgia?

Once built, Anaklia Deep Sea Port will be the largest port in the country.

Anaklia is located in north-west Georgia, on the Black Sea coast near breakaway Abkhazia region.

When complete it will have the ability to receive large vessels with a 10, 000 container capacity. Once fully operational the Port will be able to receive Panamax and post-Panamax ships – the largest ships able to pass through a canal with a cargo capacity of up to 40,000 tonnes.

Anaklia Deep Sea Port project. Artist impression. Image by Georgia's Ministry of Economy. 

Anaklia Deep Sea Port is one of the infrastructural projects Georgia planned to implement to restore the historic Silk Road route and revive the country’s role as a transit nation connecting East and West.

The new Port will reduce the time need to transport cargo from China to Europe by about two weeks. The Port will develop the local economy not only in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti [the region where the Port will be located] but also in the whole country. It will also deepen trade and economic relations between Europe and Asia,” said Kvirikashvili.

In addition to building the Anaklia Deep Sea Port, development of logistics and industry zones and constructing an airport and liquid gas terminal are also planned for the region.

The Government also planned to announce a free economic zone on the territory of Anaklia Port.