Tender process launched for Anaklia development

Set to open in 2020, it will be the first Georgian container port with deep water, state-of-the-art equipment. Constructed over the course of nine phases, the US$2.5 billion investment will create a strategically located port able to berth vessels of up to 10,000 teu capacity.

“The implementation of the Anaklia Port Project will contribute to the creation of thousands of jobs, the improvement of the socio-economic situation of the local population, the increase of the competitiveness of the corridor passing through Georgia, the attraction of new cargo flows through the territory of Georgia, as well as the development of production and logistics services in the vicinity of the port,” said the government in a statement.

The ‘Big Four’ dredging companies which own 80% of the world’s global dredging fleet, namely Boskalis, DEME, Jan De Nul and Van Oord, have been directly approached by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development after consultation with Haedes.

The consultancy firm was hired by the state-funded Anaklia Seaport to ‘ensure the timely, reliable and high-quality execution of works’ as well as prepare technical tasks and evaluate the submitted proposals.

In a Facebook message, Georgian prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze said that procedures for granting the tender will end in May with construction work starting in June. “The first phase, the basic phase, will take about two years,” he said, but did not specify when the port would receive the first ship, adding: “What is important for us is that the first phase is successfully completed in two years. Our work is fully focused on that.”

The dredging companies will be required to submit technical and financial documents and have 45 days to do so.