BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 26. The Anaklia Deep Sea Port project is of significant importance for enhancing the competitiveness of the Middle Corridor in the long term, Georgia's Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Levan Davitashvili said, Trend reports.
"We have entered an interesting phase. The first stage has concluded, and now we have two finalists in the phase of reviewing specific proposals, which is a multi-month procedure we are conducting in collaboration with leading international consulting expert firms. Simultaneously, we are preparing the technical specifications for the maritime infrastructure. We are talking about a long-term perspective spanning decades, and the Anaklia project is one of the critical components," he said within the Silk Road Forum in Tbilisi.
He also noted that Georgia sees the increasing role of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), or the so-called Middle Corridor.
Initiated in 2016 with a $2.5 billion budget, the Anaklia Deep Sea Port project was originally set to be constructed through a collaboration between Conti International from the United States and Georgia's TBC Holding.
However, due to political disputes and arbitration proceedings between the government and consortium members, the project was shelved in 2019.
However, it was revived in December, following Russia-Ukraine war. The conflict has led to a shift in trade routes toward the "Middle Corridor," which traverses Georgia, Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea, and Kazakhstan.