Georgian gov’t to discuss future of Anaklia Deep Sea Port
The Ministry of Infrastructure says that government will discuss ways to continue the construction of the port. Photo: Anaklia Port.
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The Georgian government will discuss the investment agreement signed with Anaklia Development Consortium to build the Anaklia Deep Sea Port as the consortium was unable to obtain the needed $400 million in loans from international financial institutions and $120 million from potential investors by the official expiration of the term limits at the end of 2019.
The Ministry of Infrastructure says that government will discuss ways to continue the construction of the port.
On December 31, 2019 Anaklia Development Consortium announced that they are doing their best to keep the project alive and push it further.
We have approached the government for support, but we have not seen an effective outcome,” said the Anaklia Development Consortium on December 31, 2019.
On December 6, 2019, Director General of the Anaklia Development Consortium Levan Akhvlediani said that negotiations with investors were ongoing but had come up against difficulties because of recent months’ developments around the project.
Minister of Infrastructure Maia Tskitishvili. Photo: netgazeti.
He also noted that the business environment in the country had influenced the negotiations as well.
On December 6, 2019, Minister of Infrastructure Maia Tskitishvili urged Akhvlediani to admit that the Anaklia Development Consortium cannot carry out the project.
Tskitishvili said that cancelling the agreement with the Anaklia Development Consortium does not mean disrupting the project.
The Georgian government did not cancel the investment agreement with Anaklia Development Consortium on October 15 despite the expired deadline for the consortium to fulfil its interim obligations.
- 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.
- The 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.
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."
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.
Georgian Minister of Infrastructure Maia Tskitishvili said earlier today 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 Dutch company Van Oord, an international contractor specialising in dredging, marine engineering and offshore projects (oil, gas and wind), has become the owner of four per cent of shares of the Anaklia Development Consortium.
The Georgian government will begin procedures to cancel the investment agreement signed with the Anaklia Development Consortium on October 3, 2016 to build the Anaklia Deep Sea Port. The consortium has been unable to obtain the needed $400 million in loans from international financial institutions and $120 million from potential investors by the official expiration of the term limits at the end of 2019.
Anaklia Development Consortium is going to appeal to the International Court of Justice in response to the Georgian government’s cancellation of the investment agreement with the consortium to build the Anaklia Deep Sea Port.
The Georgian government says that the Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) has the right to start arbitration but that the government is not going to renew the agreement with the ADC to build the Anaklia Deep Sea Port.