Page 45 - GEORptMar20

Adding to the bright outlook is news that Georgia has received official confirmation from ITB Berlin, Germany's national tourism exhibition, that in 2022 Georgia will be its host country. The exhibition is the biggest of its kind. "The host country status is a signal for the whole world that Georgia is one of the best countries for tourism. This exhibition sends a message that Georgia is an interesting, new, diverse, attractive and rapidly growing tourist destination. Previous years of experience show that after [a country becomes] an ITB Berlin host country, the number of international visitors [going to that country] increased by 130%,” the Georgian Department of Tourism said.
9.1.5 ​Infrastructure and construction sector news
Georgia’s government knocks out consortium contracted to build Anaklia deep sea port but flagship infrastructure should still be built
Poti operator in Georgia asks for government support for deep-water expansion
Though Georgia’s government ​has torpedoed​ ​the consortium it asked to build a $2.5bn flagship deep-sea port on the Black Sea coast, there are few politicians in the small country that would openly declare that the long prized infrastructure ambition should be dropped—especially with the Georgian general election coming up later this year.
The prospect of building the port not only helps spread the feelgood factor among Georgians wanting affirmation that their country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia has solid economic growth prospects. It also helps to symbolise the desire among many in Georgia to move closer to the West, while limiting Russian and Chinese influence in their country—Tbilisi in 2016 very pointedly granted the right to build the deep-water facility to US-backed investors.
For now, ruling coalition and opposition parties are lobbing brickbats at each other over why it was that in January officials went ahead and terminated the government’s public private partnership (PPP) contract with the Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC). Although Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Natia Turnava has moved relatively quickly to 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
45​ GEORGIA Country Report​ March 2020 ​​www.intellinews.com