Anaklia port facing unclear future

this year, saying that agreed timescales were not being met. In July 2020, ADC and the principal international investor file arbitration claims against Georgia. Last month, ADC issued a statement supporting its opinion that the Georgian government has deliberately undermined the project by dissuading participants in order to end the project. It issued a further statement last week claiming that in the proposed 2021 State Budget, the Georgian Government admits that a new port tender is unlikely to succeed. This has been followed by comments by Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Natia Turnava, in an interviews with Forbes Week. She hopes that American investors will be interested in participating in the re-tendered Anaklia project, scheduled for the second half of next year. ADC originally comprised TBC Holding from Georgia, Conti International (U.S.), SSA Marine (U.S.), British Wondernet Express working in Central Asia, and G-Star Ltd. from Bulgaria (the company has Georgian owners and seems to operate as an offshore investment vehicle). Thus, there were already U.S. investors in the port project. The project is now mired in political and economic complications, with various countries having geopolitical interests and a challenging economic environment. The situation is further complicated by the ongoing development Georgia’s Poti port, south of Anaklia. A detailed article by PortSEurope can be accessed here, which considers the possible interests of China, Russia and the USA. Copyright (C) PortSEurope. All Rights Reserved. 2020.