I think that both projects, both Poti and Anaklia port projects, will be implemented in such a way that Georgia's opportunities will increase and state interests will be protected, - said the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Levan Davitashvili after the end of the government session.
According to him, it is important to develop the port infrastructure in Georgia, although this should be done while protecting the interests of the state.
"Regarding the issue of the expansion of the "APM Terminal", it is important for us to develop the port infrastructure in Georgia, although we always say that it is important considering and protecting the state's interests, because the final result we want to achieve is smoother operations, more competitiveness and all that. It should be done by protecting the interests of the state. All at any cost - this is not our principle, such a principle has been damaging to our economy for years. Therefore, we respect our partner "APM Terminal", which is an international high-reputation operator, with whom we have a close dialogue, last week I personally also had a meeting with the new head and we talked about the plans, and I think the Ministry has no shortage of dialogue, we have a very clear concrete communication, but under what conditions the investments will be made, including privatization conditions, obligations from the state in terms of investments in public infrastructure, etc. These are issues to be discussed, which will certainly be subject to negotiation. During the 7 years, the company and the investor changed their conditions many times, and theirs is understandable, because the business environment changed significantly during these 7 years, and this type of investment is always difficult to implement. Therefore, the Anaklia project is also very difficult for investors, especially since it is a "greenfield" project, and therefore we put a lot of effort into implementing this project taking into account the state's interests as much as possible. This too is going according to plan, there are no problems or delays here, it has nothing to do with the participation of any specific country in this project, and I think that both projects will be implemented in such a way that Georgia's opportunities will increase and state interests will be protected," Davitashvili said.
