The Republic of Georgia’s Ministry of Economy & Sustainable Development today announced that the Anaklia Development Consortium has been awarded the contract to build and develop a Deep Sea Port in Anaklia. The $3.7 billion project will establish a new maritime corridor between China and Europe, helping restore the historic Silk Road and stimulating national and regional economic growth.
The Anaklia Development Consortium is a joint venture between TBC Holding, which is based in Georgia, and Conti International, a major United States-based developer of infrastructure and capital projects. Other key partners include the leading port designer Moffatt & Nichol and the Dutch maritime and transport advisory firm MTBS.
The government of Georgia, which initiated the project, has committed to invest $100 million in ensuring its success.
Giorgi Kvirikashvili, the Prime Minister of Georgia, commented on the project: “The development of the Anaklia Port will usher in a new era of prosperity and opportunity for Georgia and bring our neighbors in Europe and Asia closer together than ever before. This project has the potential to transform Anaklia into one of the world’s great trading hubs and generate economic benefits that will be felt far and wide. We look forward to shepherding the project to a successful completion, including modernizing surrounding roads and railways that are critical connections to the future Port.”
Construction on the project is scheduled to launch by the end of 2016, subject to completion of environmental reviews. The Port will be operational three years after its groundbreaking. The project is expected to create as many as 9,700 jobs during the construction stage and an additional 12,500 jobs once it is completed, and generate 0.5% of GDP annually by 2025.
Kurt Conti, CEO and President of Conti International, commented: “We are delighted and honored to be awarded the contract to undertake the infrastructure development of Anaklia’s Deep Sea Port. We are looking forward to breaking ground and working with the government of Georgia to help forge new paths from Asia to Europe as well as unlocking the economic potential of Georgia’s neighbors and landlocked nations in the Caucasus.”
Mamuka Khazaradze, Founder and President of TBC Holding and Founder and Chairman of TBC Bank, added: “The Anaklia project represents a one-of-a-kind investment in the restoration of the Silk Road that will pay dividends for generations of workers in Asia and Europe. The government of Georgia deserves much credit for its foresight in initiating this project and ensuring it receives the support necessary for its completion. Their level of commitment clearly reflects the Port’s tremendous economic importance to the country and the region.”
Located on the eastern edge of the Black Sea, Anaklia strategically sits on the shortest route from China to Europe. The route has recently become a focal point for $40 billion in Chinese infrastructure investments under the Silk Road Development Fund and already accounts for 26% of Chinese foreign trade volume. The restoration of the Silk Road has been a major priority for Georgia as well and builds upon the government’s Deep and Comprehensive Free Industrial Agreement (DCFTA) with the European Union in December 2014.
As part of today’s agreement, the Anaklia Development Consortium also receives the right to develop a Free Industrial Zone that will support the Port’s operations and trade and be home to local and international entrepreneurship. It will be administered with a tax-free regime to incentivize shipping companies, manufacturers, businesses and employees to relocate and use the Port.
Anaklia’s Port is poised to revitalize the Caucasus and Central Asia by opening up trade routes for neighbors and landlocked nations such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kirgizstan and Tajikistan. Access to these countries is limited and infrastructure development in Anaklia can provide the most efficient and safest route to millions living in Central Asia and the Caucasus.
About the Anaklia Deep Sea Port:
• The Port will encompass about 400 hectares of land. The Anaklia Development Consortium is receiving exclusive and irrevocable rights to use this land for 49 years.
• Estimated capital expenditures for the Port will amount to $3.7 billion.
• The Port is next to a deep-sea canyon that will provide accessibility to Panamax-size ships.
• Upon completion, the Port will be able to process 6,000,000 twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) containers, 6 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of dry bulk, and 11.5 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of liquid bulk.
• The Port will serve as the main gateway for imports for approximately 17 million inhabitants of landlocked Caucus and Central Asian countries, and provide key supply routes for 146 million people living within the Port’s immediate region.
• The infrastructure capacity and the depth of the Deep Sea Port will allow it to serve the 51% of vessels on the Black Sea that are too large to call any of the existing Georgian ports.
• The Port will have capacity to berth 6,500 TEU vessels.
• The Anaklia Development Consortium is also receiving the right to develop a Free Industrial Zone on about 600 hectares of land adjacent to the Port.
About the Anaklia Development Consortium (or “ADC”)
The ADC is a consortium of TBC Holding from Georgia and Conti International from the United States.
TBC Holding was founded by Mamuka Khazaradze who also is the Founder and Chairman of TBC Bank. Conti International is a major developer of infrastructure and capital projects. ADC is in discussions to add other members, including partners from China. ADC’s leaders are proactive, resourceful entrepreneurs with an exceptional 20-year relationship and a track record of ethical business conduct. ADC has established a framework of preliminary agreements with diverse global players in port and transport infrastructure for Anaklia Port’s long-term success.