TBILISI, September 17 – Frustration is mounting in Georgia as both port renewal plans on the Black Sea have stalled.
Poti’s USD 300 million expansion has been on the table since 2018 but remains frozen. The port’s director, Zviad Chkhartishvili, told Georgian media that Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili has asked for two more months before taking a position. He suggested that Anaklia may be soaking up government attention.
Anaklia, a deep-sea port project meant to handle larger ships than Poti, has been tied up for nearly five years with no chosen developer. Critics argue that if Anaklia really were the government’s top priority, construction would already be underway, according to Rezonansi.
The Transport Corridor Research Center points out that global “landlord” port models, such as those used in Rotterdam and Hamburg, could have been applied to Anaklia years ago. Instead, the project has been caught between shifting foreign partners and politics.
Poti is expected to reach peak capacity of 600,000 containers by 2025, but without solid investment, Georgia risks losing out on freight flows, as companies reroute their cargo elsewhere.
