Minister of Economy Announces Sino-Singaporean Consortium Winner in Anaklia Port Selection Competition

On May 29, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Levan Davitashvili announced that the winner in the Anaklia Deep Sea Port private partnership selection competition is the Chinese-Singaporean consortium, which will be officially announced in the coming days.

Minister Davitashvili noted that the two finalists – a Sino-Singaporean consortium and a Swiss-Luxembourg company – revealed last September had a deadline of May 20, 2024 to submit their project proposals to the Anaklia Deep Sea Port Development Agency, but only the Sino-Singaporean consortium submitted its proposal.

The Swiss-Luxembourg company was Terminal Investment Limited, which, according to Davitashvili, didn’t submit its proposal despite the extension of the deadline from February to May this year. The Chinese consortium, which also requested the deadline extension and was able to submit its proposal on time, includes China Communication Construction Company LTD and China Harbor Investment, with subcontractors China Road and Bridge Corporation and Qingdao Port International Co Ltd.

“The Agency, with the help of international consultants, has studied the documents submitted by the candidates. The application is complete, the relevant bank guarantees have been submitted. Therefore, in the next few days we will have clarifications [with the Chinese consortium], after which the Chinese consortium will be announced as the winner,” – said Davitashvili.

He also announced that a state company “Anaklia Deep Sea Port” owning 51% of the project will soon start its part of the construction. At the same time, another privately owned company is being sought to carry out the construction of the port, and according to Davitashvili, the tender for the construction has been conducted according to the rules of the World Bank, and three candidate companies have applied. According to Davitashvili, these applications are being examined and the winner of this tender will also be announced in the next few days.

Two of the companies named by Minister Davitashvili have controversial reputation: China Communication Construction Company Limited was black listed by the U.S. Department of Commerce for building artificial islands in the South China Sea for military purposes, while China Road and Bridge Corporation has been sanctioned by the World Bank for fraudulent practices in connection with the Philippines’ National Road Improvement and Management Program (NRIMP 1).

Also Read:

• 19/03/2024 – International Tender for Anaklia Port Marine Infrastructure Announced
• 22/09/2023 – Chinese-Singaporean and Swiss-Luxembourg Consortia Finalists in Anaklia Port Partnership Competition
• 06/09/2023 – Chinese Ambassador Confirms Chinese Interest in Anaklia Port
• 20/02/2023 – Government Announces Call for Expression of Interest for Anaklia Deep Sea Port
• 12/12/2022 – PM: Government to Keep Anaklia Port Majority Stake