Vice Prime Minister and the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Maia Tskitishvili visited the construction site of Anaklia port project. She thanked the representatives of the consortium for the invitation and made a few comments in regards to the events surrounding the project.
"There was an unnecessary hype in regards to my visit here and I want to tell everyone that the importance of this port is not depended on the fact whether I arrive here or not. We have seen the working process on numerous occasions during presentations or project plans, however I have seen many projects during these 2 days in Samegrelo and I am happy to be given the opportunity to see the construction site of the port as well”, stated Tskitishvili.
Vice PM also reminded the public that the government was the one who initiated this project and that they are actively involved in the negotiation processes.
“I want to remind you that this project was the initiative of the government of Georgia, I have detailed information and we are actively cooperating with the Consortium and international financial institutions. This project is of utmost importance for our country from security and economic perspective, as well as for the regional development and the advancement of logistic potential.
When we are speaking about the construction of railway and other kind of infrastructure, we have to realize that this is one big logistic infrastructure in which we put a lot of money and different kinds of resources.
Anaklia Port is the part of a Trans-European transport infrastructure and nobody doubts the need for the development of this project. The only problem is that there is no construction here at the moment and I am sure that both we and the consortium want the same thing – to keep the construction process going as actively as possible”, stated Vice PM Tskitishvili.
In regards to current negotiation processes Tskitishvili stated that most of the questions are oriented towards Consortium. Vice PM stated that the reason for their involvement in the negotiations with international financial institutions was the fact that the consortium needed additional help from the government in attracting the funds for the project.
Vice PM also commented on the legal company that the government of Georgia hired specifically for these negotiations:
“We haven’t received any advice from them yet. ‘White & Case’ will definitely be presented during the second round of negotiations and they will provide us with the support”, stated Tskitishvili.
