Two companies moved to the second stage of selection of the private partner of Anaklia deep sea Port

The inter-departmental government commission created for the purpose of selecting a private partner in the Anaklia deep sea port project, whose next session was held on September 20 at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, reviewed in detail the documentation of the companies participating in the expression of interest announced for the construction of the Anaklia deep-Sea harbor and made a decision to transfer the two bidders to the next stage. Within the framework of the session, relevant protocols were signed by the members of the commission, including the ministers of economy and sustainable development, finance, regional development and infrastructure, environment protection and agriculture.
As it was said at the commission meeting, as a result of the qualification evaluation of the candidates, the qualified candidates will be given a period of several months to present a technical, commercial and financial proposal, as a result of which evaluation the commission will identify the winner and the Ministry of Economy will start negotiations on the concession contract and the partnership agreement.
The development of Port infrastructure is one of the priority directions of the Georgian government, where special importance is attached to the issue of the construction of a deep-Sea Port in Anaklia. After the original investor of the project failed to fulfill its obligations and the investment area returned to the ownership of the state, the Anaklia Deep-Sea Port Development Agency, with the help of international consultants, updated the cargo flow forecasts and business model for the Anaklia project, as well as ensured the development of a new marketing strategy and the selection of the optimal public-private partnership model. All procedures were carried out to a high standard, after which a letter of intent was published in February of this year to select a private partner for the Anaklia deep- Sea harbor project.

In parallel with this process, the state established a company that started preparatory works for the construction of marine infrastructure (dredging, wave breaker). The same company, as a capital contribution, will be given a part of the land plots required for the first phase construction works.

According to the government's decision, the winning investor/private partner in the declared expression of interest will invest in the company created jointly with the above-mentioned state enterprise, which will develop the Port of Anaklia. Within the framework of public-private cooperation, the state will own 51 percent of the joint company, and the private partner will own 49 percent.