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significant player in the real estate market and construction company BK Construction) as well as the hotel and commercial property business Amber Group.
Amber Group plans to open six hotels under this brand. Georgia Capital will invest $540mn in tourism over the next five years.
Georgia Real Estate Holding will be managed by Irakli Burdiladze, who has previously held the position of CEO of M2 Group.
At a news conference, Burdiladze said that the Amber Group will focus on unique Georgian culinary offers, traditional Georgian winemaking and the international promotion of Georgia.
9.2.5 ​Infrastructure and construction corporate news
Meridian Capital NL BV has abandoned plans to replace US company Conti International as a strategic partner in Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) behind the planned $2.5bn, deep-water port in Anaklia on the Black Sea coast. ​The investment is a key project for Georgia’s development that has nonetheless become repeatedly bogged down by difficulties since it was first agreed under a public private partnership in 2016. The decision from Meridian comes with the Georgian parliament on October 30 set to discuss the future of the project. ADC was recently given a new deadline to settle all issues related to equity and financing. It was set as the end of the year, but Meridian’s decision further complicates a situation that was already difficult. Unless the issues are settled, the government could terminate the agreement signed in 2016.
Besides the Dutch company Royal van Oord, which has already purchased a 4% stake in ADC, Meridian was proposed by the consortium as a substitute for Conti International, which decided earlier this year to pull out of the project. Conti confirmed recently that it was still actively seeking an investor to pass its participation in the project, although the deadline agreed with ADC for such a swap expires at the end of October.
On October 28, a representative of Meridian addressed a letter to the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure confirming that at this stage it does not have the capacity to invest in the Anaklia project.
US-based Conti International, a member of The Conti Group, has confirmed that it continues to seek a buyer for its 42% stake in the Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) with a view to making an “orderly exit” from Georgia’s flagship deep-water port project, it said in​ ​a press release​ ​on October 25.
“[C]ontrary to media reports, Conti’s position remains unchanged. Conti will continue to pursue the sale of its position in the Anaklia Port Project and exit the Consortium in a manner that is constructive and supportive of the Project achieving completion,” the release read.
The Conti Group put out the release after ADC issued a statement which said Conti International had “reversed” its decision to leave the consortium. That decision was announced by Conti as far back as August 15.
"Due to high public interest, the Anaklia Development Consortium is releasing information today [October 25] that Conti International has reversed its decision to abandon the project and therefore remain a shareholder in Anaklia's deep-sea port," the ADC​ ​release​ ​issued on Facebook stated.
Levan Akhvlediani, head of ADC,​ ​insisted​ ​even after Conti’s statement of rebuttal that “the sale of [Conti’s] shares is not on the agenda at this time”. "The facts are the same. Conti remains a shareholder. No other kind of
59​ GEORGIA Country Report​ December 2019 ​ ​www.intellinews.com