Minister of Infrastructure and Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, Maia Tskitishvili paid the visit to the Parliament today. At the plenary session of the Parliament, Tskitishvili told the MPs about her stance on the ongoing processes in Georgia, including about Anaklia port project.
Vice PM stated that Russia definitely has an interest in this project:
“Russia has a big interest, however we should explain to the banks that there are other risks as well aside from the obvious interest of our northern neighbor regarding Anaklia deepsea project. This is why we have ‘golden condition’ in order for the government to protect itself from such risks.”, stated Tkitishvili.
Vice PM earlier explained that as part of one of the conditions of ‘golden deal’, creditors or investors are restricted from bringing in the kind of individuals which disagree with Georgia’s strategic interests or the concept of security. The condition is vail for 50 years since the port starts its operations.
Tskitishvili also stated that the issuing of loans on northern neighbor should be restricted, so that the international banks ensure flexible conditions.
Vice PM Tskitishvili assessesed the performance of Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) Group during her speech by calling them ‘unexperienced’.
“Consortium faced several challenges during the implementation of this project. In this case we have people with good education and skills for project management, however in addition to that, this is the group with Georgian management, which has never implemented the construction of such port, neither in Georgia, nor outside its borders”, stated Tskitishvili.
Vice PM also stated that she does not see much of the involvement of “The Conti Group” in the project. Conti Group is the founder Anaklia Development Consortium and the owner of 42% of project’s shares.
“When the government of Georgia made the decision about this project, experience of Conti Group was the reason why Anaklia Development Consortium’ won. Unfortunately, we do not see active involvement of Conti Group now. Anaklia Development Consortium is only represented by Georgian management, which is also positive – formation of Georgian team, which gains experience – however, we do not see the kind of experience which allowed ADC to win in this process.”
Tskitishvili continued by saying that the Conti Group was represented as the strategic investor, which means that ‘its strength, financial opportunities, it should have been the guarantee of success for the banks. The construction of such project could be ensured in three years’.
Moreover, Maia Tskitishvili explained that the government agreed on two changes with the consortium. First change was concerning the postponement of the project, whereas the second change was regarding the issuing of the subordinated loan worth 100 million USD by the government of Georgia. The loan would have to be covered after the major loans worth 400 million USD are covered.
