Economy Minister: int’l court’s ruling on Anaklia port project confirms Gov’t was “absolutely right”

Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Tuesday said the International Court of Arbitration’s decision in favour of the state in a dispute following its 2020 cancellation of the contract of a private consortium for building a deepwater port in the north-western Black Sea town of Anaklia had “confirmed” the Government had been “absolutely right” in the decision.

He said the arbitration ruling had ended “years of speculation and debate” around developments of the long-standing major project, in which the Government cancelled the contract for the company’s failure to facilitate the project within deadlines, before Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze - partners in the initiative with the consortium, founders of TBC Bank and now leaders of the Lelo opposition party - as well as other foreign investors submitted their lawsuit alleging violation of their rights in the cancelled contract.

• Georgian PM: int’l court’s ruling on Anaklia port project arbitration means “truth has prevailed”

The Minister emphasised the significance of the decision for the future of the Anaklia project, stating the Government had been “consistently advancing” the development of the port.

The Government has [recently] begun the process of selecting a [new] construction company through an international competition, with the participation of four leading international companies. Results are expected soon, and the project will proceed according to plan, enabling construction to commence this year and culminate in an agreement with a private partner”, Davitashvili said.

In his reaction, Khazaradze expressed frustration on social media about the decision of the Court, calling it “disappointing”.