Where does the Anaklia Deep Sea Port stand?

General Director of the Anaklia Development Consortium Levan Akhvlediani said earlier today that if Georgian government cancels the agreement with Anaklia Development Consortium on the building of the Anaklia Deep Sea Port, the consortium will start arbitration dispute.

Akhvlediani said that speaking about ‘the consortium’s last chance’ and deadlines are unconstructive in an environment where the project is now and said that the main thing is for the project to move forward.

Akhvlediani said that negotiations with investors are ongoing but it has some difficulties because of the recent months’ developments around the project.  He also noted that the business environment of the country also influences the negotiations.

We have to negotiate with investors in difficult circumstances”, said Akhvlediani.

Minister of Infrastructure Maia Tskitishvili answered Akhvlediani and urged him to admit that the Anaklia Development Consortium cannot carry out the project.

Construction of Anaklia Deep Sea Port started in 2017. Photo: Anaklia Development Consortium. 

Tskitishvili said that she agrees with Akhvlediani that political interests should be set aside and everyone should think about the interests of the country, so the consortium should give the country the opportunity to move on to the next phase of the project without any dispute.

We all agree that the country needs the Anaklia Deep Sea Port and as soon as possible…” said Tskitishvili.

Tskitishvili said that canceling the agreement with the Anaklia Development Consortium does not mean disrupting the project.

As for a possible dispute in the Arbitration Court, Tskitishvili said that it would be unfortunate if the consortium makes such a decision as it would hinder the quick implementation of the project.

Earlier, on November 3 Tskitishvili said that the government cannot continue cooperating with the Anaklia Development Consortium if the latter is unable to fulfill its obligations to secure funding for the project in a timely manner.

The deadline for the consortium is extended to December 31 and after that Georgian government will carry out actions permissible by the contract,” noted Tskitishvili on November 3.

The Anaklia Development Consortium won the state tender to construct the port and signed a deal with the government in 2016. Photo: Anaklia Port. 

Georgian government has not canceled the current investment agreement despite the expired deadline (October 15) for the consortium to fulfil its interim obligations which was finalising agreements with potential investors and financial institutions to bring in $520 million in total in investments.

The deadline for the Anaklia Development Consortium to obtain the needed $400 million in loans from international financial institutions and to put forward its own capital of $120 million is the end of 2019.

The Anaklia Development Consortium won the state tender to construct the port and signed a deal with the government in 2016 with TBC Holding as its principal partner, but has faced problems in attracting the $2.5 billion in funds needed to construct the port.

Construction of Anaklia Deep Sea Port started in 2017, with the opening of the port and the receiving of ships in Anaklia planned for 2021. 

The latest timeline presented by the consortium says that the construction of the port will be completed in June of 2022 instead of 2020, announced the Ministry of Infrastructure on July 30.