Anaklia Consortium Dismisses Reports on False Information
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Wednesday, March 20
The Anaklia Development Consortium, consisting of TBC Holding from Georgia, Conti International from the United States, SSA Marine from the US, British Wondernet Express working in Central Asia, and G-Star Ltd. from Bulgaria, which is scheduled to construct the 4.5 billion USD Anaklia deep sea port, has condemned the reports of Imedi TV on Monday which pledged the consortium contained false and unspecified information about the construction of the Anaklia port.
“The Anaklia Development Consortium once again clarifies that there has not been any delay in the construction of the port since 2016 after the investment agreement was signed with the government of Georgia. Moreover, in 2018, the shareholders started the construction at their own expense. As of today, the consortium has invested $ 70 million in the project”, reads the statement.
The consortium claims that the government created a stir around the project and thus created obstacles for the project to continue smoothly.
“We would also like to remind you how the stir around the Anaklia port was created: The Chief Prosecutor's Office of Georgia publicly made unjustified financial accusations against businessmen - Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, who are also founders of the Anaklia Development Consortium.
“This step of the government raised logical questions among the institutions that were funding the project. The government created the stir around the project and thus created obstacles for it to continue developing smoothly. They also published the details of negotiations with the consortium. The successful continuation of cooperation with financial institutions is, first of all, in our interest”, reads the statement.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze says that accusations that Georgian Dream government does not want a port to be constructed are “cheap and irresponsible political speculations."
Bakhtadze claims that the project has huge importance and he himself as the head of the Georgian railway, then later as the minister of finance and the prime minister, has provided much effort to pull the project through.
He said there are some people who are trying to link the project with the money laundering case being investigated by the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office, involving founders of TBC Khazaradze and Japaridze.
