The state will be the sole owner of the Anaklia deep-sea port, Georgia’s Minister of Economy Mariam Kvrivishvili has announced. International partners will only be able to lease the terminals built inside the port.
The head of the Ministry of Economy noted that several Western countries have shown interest in the project, but due to ongoing negotiations, the specific nations are not yet being disclosed.
Kvrivishvili emphasized that Georgia is launching an “open and transparent process” to attract partners to participate in the port’s operations—both at the state level and private companies with experience in port infrastructure management and the capacity to attract cargo flows.
The minister specified that this does not involve the sale of shares.
“This will be a Georgian port. As for the participation of international companies, they will be directly involved in the management of the terminal infrastructure, which has nothing to do with ownership. The terminals to be built in the port—both for dry cargo and container shipping—will be leased to our international partners. There is interest from several participants from Western countries, not just one, but I cannot confirm specific details as these are ongoing negotiations,” Kvrivishvili noted.