In the direction of fully utilizing the transport and logistics potential of the country, the government aims to increase the competitiveness of the sector and create sustainable, efficient transport connections, which will play an important role in strengthening the country's economic integration, said Levan Davitashvili, the candidate for the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, during his speech at the joint session of the Finance and Budgetary Officer of the Parliament of Georgia, sectoral economy and economic policy, agrarian issues, environmental protection and natural resources and regional policy and self-government committees.
As the candidate for the position of minister noted, in the coming years, the work in terms of attracting additional cargoes in the direction of the transport routes passing through Georgia, including the "Middle Corridor", will become even more active. According to him, in 2023, the total number of processed containers in Poti and Batumi seaports amounted to 701,442 TEU, which is 47.0% more than in 2022 (477,094 TEU).
According to Levan Davitashvili, in order to strengthen the transport connections between Georgia and the European Union, work will continue in the direction of adding direct ferry lines to Bulgaria and Romania and increasing traffic intensity on the Black Sea.
The ministerial candidate named the transport-logistics projects, the implementation of which will help Georgia to attract additional cargoes. According to him, the process of identifying a private partner for the development of the Anaklia deep-water harbor, which is very important for the country, is in the final stage. According to Levan Davitashvili, the deep-water port of Anaklia will start operating in 2029 at the latest. According to him, after the completion of the first phase, the capacity of the port will be 600,000 containers (TEU) per year, and the investment will be 600 million. will be equal to the US dollar.
The ministerial candidate also spoke about the railway modernization project, after the completion of which the annual capacity of the railway will increase from 27 million to 48 million tons, and if necessary, with the installation of an automatic blocking system, it will increase to 100 million tons. According to him, the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway section, which is an integral part of the middle corridor, is also in the final stage.
For information, the candidate for the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Levan Davitashvili, was heard at the joint session of the Parliament's financial-budgetary, sectoral economy and economic policy, agrarian issues, environmental protection and natural resources and regional policy and self-government committees.
