EBRD hints at participation in Georgia's Anaklia Deep Sea Port development

Baku, Azerbaijan, September 25

By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is ready to participate in the Georgian project of construction deep sea port of Anaklia, said Jürgen Rigterink, First Vice President of the EBRD, Trend reports with reference to bm.ge.

Rigterink has already met with Georgian Prime Minister Georgi Gakharia, and discussed with him the importance of the Anaklia project.

According to him, this project is valuable not only for Georgia, but also for the entire region.

At the same time, Rigterink didn't specify any details regarding the bank's participation in the project.

“First we need to know what the government decides, what the investors of this project decide. We told Prime Minister Gakharia that if there is no loss in the commercial market in Anaklia, we are ready to play our part in this important project,” says Rigterink.

Anaklia, a seaport project on Georgia's Black Sea coast, promises to turn the country into a stopover for trade between China and Europe. The Anaklia Deep Sea Port development was separated into nine phases. At the end of the final phase it must be able to handle 100 million tons of cargo per year. Pre-construction work of Anaklia Deep Sea Port started in 2016, while the opening of the first phase of the port and receiving the ships in Anaklia is planned for 2021.

Anaklia Development Consortium is due to submit a final agreement with investors to the government by October 15.

The government states that the consortium should also consider replenishing its own capital, replacing the Conti Group and presenting a final agreement with banks, which will require only the approval of the supervisory boards of these banks.