Economy Minister: Cancelation of Contract with Anaklia Consortium Logical

"According to the conditions that led to the announcement of a tender and revealing the winning company, we should have had a new port by 2020. Unfortunately, this could not be achieved, which is the responsibility of the investor,” Natia Turnava, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, said after the government meeting. She noted that the decision to cancel the contract with the Anaklia Development Consortium was correct.

The Minister emphasized that it is impossible to postpone the project deadline again and damage state interests.

“At today's meeting of the government, a decision was made and the existing agreement with the Anaklia Development Consortium was canceled. This decision is absolutely logical given that we have been providing unprecedented support to this project and its investors since 2017: financial, legal, organizational, political. According to the conditions that led to announcing a tender and revealing the winning company, we should have had a new port by 2020. Unfortunately, this could not be achieved, which is the responsibility of the investor. You can't name another project that the government has shown so much support for. This is the only commercial project mentioned in the Constitution of Georgia.

"The decision to cancel the contract is the right one because we need a deep water port. We see the need for this project to continue, but we do not see the resources to continue this project with its current investor. Giving more chances and postponing the project deadline further is impossible and hurts state interests,” Turnava said.

The Minister noted that the conditions for selecting a new investor will be changed and renewed.

“There is yet another opportunity to revise and renew the requirements for an investor, to make them more adequate today since much has changed globally and regionally since 2017. All this will be taken into consideration and we are sure that with the new conditions we will start the process of finding a new investor, again in a transparent and competitive environment,” she said.

The Government of Georgia has decided to cancel its contract with the Anaklia Development Consortium and to launch appropriate legal procedures. The issue was discussed at today's governmental meeting and the decision was announced recently.

The topic was the first issue on the agenda of today's governmental meeting.

The Anaklia Development Consortium was to fulfill its duties by December 31, after the government postponed the term for reaching an agreement with potential investors, as well as international banks (EBRD, OPIC, ADB, AIIB) for a loan of $400 million. Another duty of the consortium was to sign a contract with construction contractors. The Georgian government says the Anaklia Development Consortium failed to meet its obligations.

By  Ana Dumbadze 

Related Story: Govt' Cancels Contract with Anaklia Development Consortium