Initially, the potential investors have pushed forward 8 conditions on which they would fund the port’s further development. The most controversial is the demand to guarantee the availability of cargo flows making the port’s work feasible. Furthermore, in case of cargo deficiency resulting in the port’s unprofitability, the investors believe the state should compensate the assigned credits and take on the ownership of the asset. On the contrary, Georgian Government disagrees with this conditions reckoning the state not bound to guarantee profits of a private sea port and moreover pay hundred millions USD to banks if it comes non-viable.
Minister of Infrastructure of Georgia Maya Tskitishvili met representatives of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on 3 May to consider possibilities of investing in the Anaklia deep-sea port. The parties decided to continue the talks in late May.
According to director general of Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) Levan Akhvlediani, at the time they were negotiating with 4 major international financial institutions regarding the credits assigning to fund the port construction.
“Presently they are mobilised for investing in the project, and there is going to be the next meeting with Government on this topic in the nearest future. As concerns the construction terms, perhaps the port’s start of work will be postponed for 3 months and we’ll meet the first ship a bit later. Initially it was planned to finish then first phase of construction in the end of 2020, the port launching in first months of 2021. Most probably, these terms will be changed but anyway in case of successful talks and positive decision on investments, in early 2021 the port will admit first vessels”, he maintained.
Both ADC and Government, as he said, were ready to meet investors as scheduled on 13 May. Minister Maya Tskitishvili positioned Government as a third party to help mutual understanding: “Attracting investors and construction is a responsibility of the consortium, and all questions regarding possible terms of construction should be addressed to it, while we have to assist ADC in this situation and join the talks with investors”.
Then, Georgian ex-Minister of Economy Giorgi Kobulia announced in the Parliament that Anaklia project had strictly commercial problems apart of the political ones. “It’s not worth averting face from reality and comment everything with a political bias, he said, as the deep-sea port project runs into serious commercial problems”.
https://commersant.ge/ru/post/proshla-vstrecha-po-povodu-stroitelstva-porta-anaklia
https://commersant.ge/ru/post/idut-peregovori-s-4-mejdunarodnimi-finansovimi-institutami-o-stroitelstve-porta-v-anaklia
https://commersant.ge/ru/post/eks-ministr-ekonomiki-u-proekta-anakliyskogo-porta-est-kommercheskie-problemi