On February 26, 2024, during the prime-time program of the pro-Kremlin Sezoni TV, the host, Nikoloz Mzhavanadze, claimed that the construction of Anaklia Port was blocked by the US because of Chinese investments:
Nikoloz Mzhavanadze: “We know very well that, for example, a few years ago, when Kvirikashvili was the Prime Minister, then the construction of Anaklia port was planned with Chinese investments. Karchava was a businessman who wanted to bring in these Chinese investments, but it was blocked because the United States has blocked all of this.”
The claim that the US blocked the construction of a deep-water port in Anaklia is manipulative. The US actively supported the construction of the port, and in 2016 the winning consortium included American companies. During the prime ministership of Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Mamuka Bakhtadze, the representatives of the US government actively supported the construction of the port, and later they criticized the Georgian government for obstructing the port construction process. After the Georgian government terminated the contract with the consortium, US government officials continue to talk about the importance of the project, but at the same time, they called on the Georgian government to be careful when selecting partners for a critical infrastructure project, ensure competition and select a company that will act in accordance with the law.
The first tender for the construction of the deep-water port of Anaklia was announced in 2016, which was won by the “Anaklia Development Consortium,” one of the founders of which was “TBC Holding” and it also included American companies, SSA Marine and “The Conti Group”.
On January 9, 2020, the government of Georgia terminated the contract with “Anaklia Development Consortium” due to non-fulfillment of its obligations, and a year before that, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia initiated a criminal case against the former chairman of the consortium, Mamuka Khazaradze, and his deputy, Badri Japaridze, on charges of money laundering. At the end of 2019, one of the American partners, Conti Group, decided to leave the consortium. In 2020, “Anaklia Development Consortium” started an investment arbitration dispute against Georgia, the result of which will probably be announced this year.
In October 2019, Mamuka Khazaradze discussed his meeting with Bidzina Ivanishvili in 2017 on the air of the TV Mtavari. According to him, then Ivanishvili told him “Let’s leave Anaklia alone. It seems you don’t understand geopolitics… What business the Americans have in the Black Sea?!” And that he thought the investor in the project should be a state-owned Chinese company. In July of the same year, the former member of the “Georgian Dream” and MP Eka Beselia said in the “Reaction” program of the TV Company “Pirveli” that a critical and negative attitude towards Mamuka Khazaradze and the Anaklia project appeared in the meeting of the MPs of the “Georgian Dream” and Bidzina Ivanishvili in 2018, which was followed by the resignation of the then Prime Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili. It should be noted that in 2019, the Ministry of Economy of Georgia issued a permit for the construction of a new deep-water port in Poti, but it was soon canceled. The then Minister of Economy, Natia Turnava, said that it was a document of preliminary conditions for land use, which was issued with gaps and without agreement. In 2020, after the termination of the contract with “Anaklia Development Consortium”, the Ministry of Economy re-issued the permit for the first stage of land use for the expansion of the Port of Poti.
The developments surrounding the Anaklia project were criticized by the representatives of the US government. On January 21, 2020, four congressmen wrote a letter to the then Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Gakharia, in which they expressed concern regarding the politicization of the Anaklia project:
“Georgian Dream’s perceived political targeting of the U.S.-backed Anaklia Development Consortium has now deterred or prevented investment from American companies in this important project. These developments seem to reflect an increasingly unfavorable business environment and could deter future U.S. investment in Georgia. Decreased foreign investment not only hurts the Georgian people and their hopes for deeper integration with Western institutions, but it also strengthens Vladimir Putin’s hand in the region.”- stated the letter signed by Adam Kinzinger, Eliot L. Engel, Gerald E. Connolly, and Michael T. McCaul.
In the same period, Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, as well as Reps. Jodey C. Arrington (R-Texas) and Markwayne Mullin, sent a letter to the then US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, urging him to protect American businesses in Georgia and to investigate Ivanishvili’s ties to Russia and Iran. The letter stated that the construction of the port in Anaklia was aimed at reducing Georgia’s dependence on the Russian port infrastructure, however, in 2019, the American company “Conti Group” waspushed out of a consortium building a port facility in Anaklia, leaving the project stalled.
While speaking about Anaklia port, the representatives of the US government repeatedly mentioned that the US wants the construction of the project to be completed, but at the same time, they expressed the hope that Georgia would be careful in selecting project partners.
In June 2019, after a meeting with then Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said:
Mike Pompeo, former US Secretary of State: “I hope that Georgia completes the port project. These project and others will enhance Georgia’s relations with free economies and prevent Georgia from falling prey to Russian or Chinese economic influence; those pretended friends do not have Georgia’s best interests at heart.”
Later, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Philip Riker, said that the construction of the deep-water port of Anaklia is of historical importance for Georgia:
Philip Riker, Former US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs: “Regarding the Anaklia port project, I will repeat exactly what Mike Pompeo said last June during his visit to the then Prime Minister, Mamuka Bakhtadze: this is an important, historic opportunity for Georgia, given its rich tradition of trade, inventiveness and its smart and educated population, which needs such a port, which will benefit from such a port… A successful agreement involving American, international investors and international financial institutions will send a signal that Georgia’s economy and, in general, democracy is alive; It will send a signal to those who are trying to stop and derail Georgia’s progress and Western orientation…there is a calendar to implement this project…don’t delay it, use this opportunity to highlight the strength of the business and investment environment in Georgia and make this message clear to everyone. So we hope to see progress in this process, just as we hope to see progress in all the elements that strengthen Georgia’s engagement and emphasize Georgia’s desire to follow a Western orientation and join Euro-Atlantic institutions.”
After the termination of the contract with “Anaklia Development Consortium”, in 2022, the then-Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili said that the state would be involved in the construction of the Anaklia port and would have a 51% share. In 2023, it became known that two of the 4 companies participating in the re-announced tender moved to the next stage. These are Swiss-Luxembourg and Chinese-Singaporean companies, although specific names have not been disclosed due to confidentiality agreements. The companies have until May 20 of this year to submit proposals for the construction of the port.
In an October 2023 US Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the Black Sea Security Strategy, US State Department Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien said:
James O’Brien, Assistant Secretary, European and Eurasian Affairs: “We have made it clear that critical infrastructure should not be owned by nations that steal or bribe the countries in which they operate. This includes ports such as Anaklia. There are two finalists in this tender…there is a joint Singaporean and Chinese consortium and a Western consortium. The US International Development Finance Corporation has provided a very large loan to a facility in the Port of Poti that operates on bulk cargo. We are also working on developing other facilities in Georgia to handle much larger flows. Part of this is to ensure that there is competition and also that Anaklia is controlled by a company that is open to operating within the law. We will continue to call for it.”
In November of the same year, the US ambassador to Georgia, Robin Dunnigan, said in an interview with Radio Liberty that it is up to the Georgian government to choose whom to cooperate with in terms of development of the Anaklia port, although he advises them to take into account the intentions of a potential ally when making this choice:
Robin Dunnigan, US ambassador to Georgia: “On Anaklia, further developing the port would be an important element of Georgia’s serious efforts to develop itself as a Middle Corridor, important link in the Middle Corridor, which is more important now than ever. Who the government chooses to develop that port is ultimately a sovereign decision of the government. We would just encourage Georgia, as we encourage all countries when looking at critical infrastructure, including a port, but all critical infrastructure, you really need to know who you’re working with and what their long-term intentions are. And you need to ensure, a country needs to ensure that that process is as transparent as possible, and I think with critical infrastructure like ports, it’s extremely important..”
Dunnigan emphasized that the recognition of China’s sovereignty by Georgia in this agreement did not lead to a reciprocal approach from China, and at the same time, China is getting closer to Russia, which occupies part of Georgia’s territories.
It should be noted that “Anaklia Eco Park and Port and Power China Consortium” also participated in the 2016 tender, whose head was the businessman Temur Karchava mentioned by Nikoloz Mzhavanadze. Karchava owned businesses in Russia, where in 2004 he was accused of bribery and forgery of a foreign passport, and was sentenced to prison for the latter charge. Since 2009, he participated in the Anaklia port project initiated by the former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, however, in 2012, the property transferred to him in Anaklia was confiscated due to non-fulfillment of the project, and due to violation of investment conditions, he was ordered to pay 100 million USD to the Ministry of Economy.
After the government terminated the contract with “Anaklia Development Consortium”, Karchava once again expressed interest in building a deep-water port. He demanded the return of the confiscated property in Anaklia in 2012 and claimed that he would involve American, British and Chinese companies in the project.
Notably, the construction of the port of Anaklia was met with a negative reaction and threats from Russia, whose propaganda tried to show that the construction of the port of Anaklia was only in the interests of the US. Russian and Georgian pro-Kremlin actors presented the project as a “NATO provocation” and a “US military base” within the campaign against the port, while current and former representatives of the government, as well as pro-government experts, instilled skepticism towards the Anaklia port project.
In February of this year, director Goga Khaindrava spoke about the port of Anaklia in the program “Ai Ucnobi” and said that there are only two countries that do not want to build a port in Anaklia: Russia and the US.
For more information about the topic, see the articles prepared by “Myth Detector:”
- WHY IS RUSSIA AFRAID OF THE ANAKLIA PORT?
- RUSSIAN AND PRO-RUSSIAN ACTORS AGAINST GEORGIA’S DEEP SEA PORTS AND TBC BANK CASE
- WHO FOMENTS SKEPTICISM ABOUT ANAKLIA PORT PROJECT?
- MANIPULATION THAT ANAKLIA PORT CONSTRUCTION IS A NATO PROVOCATION
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