The US Government financial agency OPIC is going to grant 50M USD for the erection of a new sea terminal in the port of Poti (Georgia), reports Interfax-Ukraina.
The corresponding agreement has been signed by representatives of OPIC and USA-Georgian transport company Pace Group. “The Agreement envisages funding a part of the project with the total investment value of 120M USD”, reported Pace Group.
The venture is intended to be implemented in two phases. The first phase is going to obtain the OPIC funds of the estimated 93M USD.
“It will be a modern terminal complex to bring in substantial changes for the country’s and region’s economy. I am sure that this project will come an example not only for our country, but for the entire region, I would like to underline that the construction of new powerful maritime infrastructure is another step toward Georgia shaping as a transport corridor linking Europe and Asia, moreover that we have as a goal that Georgia should turn to a regional economic centre and regional logistic and transport hub”, declared Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze at the document’s signing ceremony.
The new sea terminal will be built at the area of former shipbuilding yard in Poti, in the new port’s harbourage of 25 hectares, with the 650 m long waterfront. Its throughput capacity is designed for 2.5M t of dry bulk and general cargoes, as well as 100,000 TEU. The port’s harbour depth is going to amount to some 12-15 m enabling thus to admit vessels capable of 50-60,000 t of cargo.
Pace Group was founded in 1990-es, in 2000 it started working in the port Poti where it nowadays operates 8 terminals owned by APM Terminals. There are above one thousand persons employed by the group.
OPIC has performed investing in Georgia since 1993, for that period having assigned about 600M USD for the country. The funds were directed to finance more than 60 business cases in various sectors of Georgia’s economy, including the spheres of production, agriculture, tourism, real estate, as well as supporting small and medium businesses.
https://cfts.org.ua/news/2019/02/05/gruzinskiy_port_poti_poluchit_50_mln_dollarov_ot_amerikanskoy_finansovoy_struktury_51528