APM Terminals Poti & Poti New Terminals Consortium Sign MoU

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between APM Terminals Poti and Poti New Terminals Consortium was signed on January 12 at an official signing ceremony held at Courtyard Marriott Tbilisi Hotel. The MoU marks a more than $100 million investment for a new bulk cargo terminal with the capacity to process a minimum of 1.5 billion tons of dry bulk cargo annually. It is expected to bring new trade opportunities to the Georgian transit corridor. The new terminal is being built on land and infrastructure belonging to APM Terminals Poti.

APM Terminals Poti, among the world’s largest port operating companies, is to expand Poti Port in a northerly direction, within its “North Territory,” which will involve the construction, development and operation of a new breakwater, dry bulk cargo terminal and its related infrastructure, according to international standards. Poti New Terminal Consortium unites a group of Georgian and foreign businessmen to create and further develop the new dry bulk cargo terminal.

As Tamaz Chkhikvishvili, Head of the Poti New Terminals Consortium, noted in his speech prior to signing the MoU, “the time has come for Georgia to make use of the historic corridor, transporting shipments from China to the Middle East and other countries. Building a new, bulk cargo deep-sea terminal in Poti will give us such an opportunity,” he said.

“Building a new bulk cargo terminal in Poti will not only create new employment opportunities, but will also attract new railway shipments and will open new investment possibilities,” Chkhikvishvili added.

“We’re open for cooperation and partnership with anyone interested in participating in the project in any form; we have our vision and our own segment, and the new terminal will serve bulk cargo specifically, which has been in decline in recent years,” he said, going on to note their active cooperate with European financial institutions, as well as a group of interested businessmen wanting to invest in the project.

According to the Head of the Poti New Terminals Consortium, the planning and building process of the new bulk cargo terminal in Poti, prior to its exploitation, will be monitored by APM Terminals Poti specialists, bringing together highly qualified experts that will serve as a guarantee that all further operations when the terminal is finally launched will be in full accordance with the world’s leading international standards.

The new Bulk Cargo Terminal is to be 300 meters long and 135 meters deep, spread over a 10-12 hectare area.

“This is exactly what our business is for; creating new opportunities for the local community,” Klaus Holm Laursen, Managing Director of APM Terminals Poti stated as he addressed the audience at the signing ceremony on Friday.

“It is also very important to understand that the city of Poti needs new opportunities, new development, and new investment. This, we will try to create together, for the people, for Georgia and for the Caucasus corridor,” he noted. “It is very important for us to take this step today, because Georgia deserves port facilities that are of international standards in both safety and operation,” he added.

“The agreement we signed today is about the future, and the idea is to make the first deep-sea port terminal for bulk cargo: a very important step. Our business as a port is to facilitate trade and the movement of incoming and outgoing cargo. With a new deep-water port, we will expand bulk cargos beyond the Black Sea: we can attract more business, create more opportunities. It’s a great support to the idea of making Georgia a transit country. It’s also a significant infrastructure investment and will give numerous opportunities for businesses in Poti, creating jobs for people there and providing greater opportunities in terms of in-land transportation. Georgia’s neighboring countries will naturally also benefit from that,” Holm Laursen told GEORGIA TODAY at the MoU signing.

“Poti is to have new bulk cargo terminal that will bring shipment back to our country, freight that we lost over time, more stimulus and it will raise the effectiveness of the railway. There are many beneficial factors that are interlinked within this project,” Chkhikvishvili told us.

The MoU signing ceremony between APM Terminals Poti and Poti New Terminals Consortium was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Georgian Railway and Sea Administration, Poti City Hall, Poti Sea Port Corporation, and numerous interested business persons.

Nino Gugunishvili