Third Box Port in the Black Sea

Hong Kong-based 3PL Kerry Logistics has signed a deal to build a third box port in the Black Sea country of Georgia.

Kerry revealed on 4 July, that it signed a memorandum of understanding between partner company Globalink and Georgia’s Anaklia City JSC to develop the Anaklia deep-sea port and special economic zone, around 70km north of the country’s main container gateway of Poti. This development will turn Georgia’s port sector into a three-way competition between Anaklia, the APM Terminals facility in Poti and the ICTSI-controlled container terminal at Batumi.

Port authority figures and Kerry stated that the new port was scheduled to open by the end of 2020, and would be fully integrated with rail and road connections. They also claimed it would be the first deep-water port in Georgia, being able to handle vessels of up to 10,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).

Black Sea Shipping Consultancy compiled data indicating that laden containers handled by Georgia’s ports grew 17.5% last year, to reach a total of 230,000 TEU, with growth at Poti behind much of this. Last year it grew 16% to 320,000 TEU, making it the second-largest terminal in the Black Sea, after DP World’s Constanza operation in Romania.

“Anaklia is a key cargo gateway in the Caucasian region. With Globalink’s proven track record in the Georgian market, and our comprehensive multimodal freight network across Eurasia, we are committed to devising innovative solutions to facilitate the building of Anaklia Port into a successful logistics hub for the region, with integrated logistics, sea-rail, and sea-road services.” -  Said Edwardo Erni, the managing director of China and North Asia for Kerry Logistics.

“With the Anaklia Port and Anaklia SEZ, we are establishing a state-of-the-art logistics, trade and business platform, which will serve a pivotal role in increasing the connectivity of Georgia as it is positioned along the shortest route from China to Europe via the Middle Corridor and from India to Europe. The successful development of Anaklia projects is expected to unlock a potential market of over 150 million consumers and serve as a bridge between Asia and Europe.” - Added Ketevan Bochorishvili, chief executive of Anaklia City JSC.

By Shawn Wayne