Page 46 - GEORptApr20

Poti operator in Georgia asks for government support for deep-water expansion
announce that a new tender for the development of the deep-sea port will materialise “very soon”, it seems unlikely that anything much will be settled until a new government is voted in an election that must take place by October. More likely is that the squabbling politicians will spend the time in the runup to voting day attempting to kick lumps out of each other in trying to pin the blame for the ADC disappointment.
The decision to announce ​a ​new tender​ “was absolutely logical, as Anaklia is our priority and we cannot allow any further delays,” said Turnava. She added: “The Ministry of Infrastructure, with our involvement, will review the terms and conditions, as they have undergone considerable modification since 2017 in favour of the investor. We are very hopeful that a new company will soon emerge as a result of a transparent tender. Of course, the Anaklia port will be built, this is our strategic priority and nothing will hinder it."
The Anaklia deep sea port project, focused on a location a few kilometres away from the Russian-occupied Abkhazia breakaway territory, has strong backing from the US.
The operator of Poti Port on Georgia’s Black Sea coast, APM Terminals, a subsidiary of Danish group Maersk, announced on January 28 that it has asked for government support to immediately kick off a $250mn investment plan to develop deeper berths designed to accommodate larger vessels, according to Business Media Group.
The project depends on approval being granted for the use of more land. APM officials said that the new berths would be 13-14.5 meters deep. This makes their project in principle a competitor to the Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) deep water port project further south on the Black Sea coast at Anaklia, although that project is designed for significantly larger capacity.
However, the Poti port expansion needs extra land to build the new terminal. The lad was subject to an administrative dispute between the economy ministry and APM. On January 28, APM Terminals released another announcement on the project. The company argued that the project would significantly increase turnover at Poti.
9.1.6 ​Health sector news
Georgia reported its first case of coronavirus on February 26, making it the​ ​first Caucasus country to confirm a case of the deadly virus. ​The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Georgia stands at 100 to date, with no related deaths. Some 4,978 people are under quarantine and 266 are under hospital supervision. Of those infected, 18 patients have recovered. Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze said an infected Georgian man, who was travelling from Iran via Azerbaijan, was hospitalised upon entry to the country. "He was immediately taken to hospital from the border checkpoint," she said. The minister added the man had arrived back in Georgia via Azerbaijan on a 12-person minibus. The other passengers on the bus are also now believed to be in isolation.
"Coronavirus positive was only in one case," Tikaradze added.
Earlier, Georgia closed its borders to Iranians entering, following the outbreak in that country, but remained open to citizens of nearby Azerbaijan and returning nationals.
“The government of Georgia is in constant communication with the Iranian authorities in order to receive the updates about the situation on the ground and the current preventive measures there,” the ​foreign ministry said​ in a
46​ GEORGIA Country Report ​April 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com