BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 1. Belgian Jan De Nul has started dredging the access channel and turning basin of Georgia’s new Anaklia Deep Sea Port, the company said.
The works are being carried out by Jan De Nul’s Tristão da Cunha and Al-Idrisi dredging vessels, which are deepening the access channel to 17.5 meters to enable the future port to receive large Panamax and Post-Panamax vessels.
The company is also constructing a 1,380-meter breakwater at the port in a joint venture with Georgia’s Prime Concrete. The structure will protect the port’s maritime area and create a sheltered zone for vessels to enter, maneuver and berth.
Dredging is scheduled to continue until the end of 2026, while construction of the breakwater is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
The first phase of the new port is scheduled for completion in 2029 and is planned to provide annual container-handling capacity of at least 600,000 TEUs.
A second phase is expected to increase the port’s annual container capacity to at least 1 million TEUs by 2035, according to Jan De Nul.
Meanwhile, Anaklia is intended to address capacity constraints in Georgia’s existing port infrastructure as container traffic through the country continues to grow. Poti, Georgia’s main container port, handled a record 636,466 containers in 2025, up 17% from 2024, but its potential for further expansion is constrained by available space and infrastructure.
The new port is therefore designed to provide additional maritime capacity at Georgia’s Black Sea gateway and strengthen the country’s role in the Middle Corridor, which connects Central Asia and China with Europe via the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The corridor remains substantially smaller in capacity than the northern route, making infrastructure expansion at its individual sections important for its further growth.
For Georgia, Anaklia also provides an opportunity to diversify its port infrastructure rather than relying primarily on the existing Poti and Batumi facilities. The project is being developed under a landlord model, with the Georgian state retaining ownership of the core infrastructure while private partners participate in terminal development and operations.
Georgia selected Belgian Jan De Nul to build the marine infrastructure of the Anaklia Deep Sea Port following an international tender launched in March 2024. The tender was limited to the so-called “Big Four” European dredging companies - Boskalis, DEME, Jan De Nul and Van Oord - which were selected because of their extensive experience in marine construction and access to specialized dredging fleets.
Jan De Nul was subsequently named the winner in August 2024. The Georgian Economy Ministry said the company was selected because of its extensive international experience and specialized fleet for both dredging and breakwater construction, which are the core marine infrastructure works required for Anaklia.
The company’s role is therefore focused on preparing the maritime infrastructure of the port, while the broader Anaklia project involves separate arrangements for the port’s development and operation. Jan De Nul itself describes the project as part of its wider work on the Middle Corridor, alongside the expansion of Kuryk Port in Kazakhstan.
