BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 10
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
The construction of Georgian Anaklia Port cannot be implemented from the budget, said the Deputy Minister of Finance Giorgi Kakauridze, Trend reports via Georgian media.
The draft budget for next year was discussed at the meeting of the Sector Economy and Economic Policy Committee on October 10.
Member of the parliament Levan Koberidze has criticized the part of the draft budget, according to which only 1.5 million lari ($468,018) is provided for the Anaklia Port project. Koberidze said that the draft budget does not include the Anaklia Port, which means that the government no longer considers it as an important project for the country's economy.
"Construction of Anaklia Port cannot be funded from the budget. Anaklia should be built by a private investor. If it happens that the state has to contribute or do something to this project, within the framework of an agreement with a private investor, it must be written in the budget of a specific year after that agreement," he said.
Anaklia Port Development Consortium was founded by TBC Holding and joined by American companies Conti International LLC and SSA Marine, British Wondernet Express, and Bulgarian G-Star Ltd. However, in August 2019, Conti International LLC announced its intention to leave the consortium, and ADC was left without the main investor.
The construction of the new port began in December 2017; in July 2018, the work commenced on deepening the bottom to 16 meters. However, at this stage, the work was suspended.
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