Poti Port operator company APM Terminals, a subsidiary of the Danish "Maersk", plans to expand the port for several years, for which the company is conducting negotiations with the Georgian government.

APM Terminals will spend about USD 250 million in this regard, however, the specific project still remains unknown.

Ian Rollinson, the Chief Financial Officer of APM Terminal Poti explains that negotiations with the Georgian government are at the final stage. In addition, according to Rollinson, the cargo flow in Poti Port has increased and there is a real need to expand the port.

"Since the beginning of the War, we have seen an increase in the number of cargoes of all categories.

We see a real need to expand the terminal, for which we are holding negotiations on the final conditions with the Georgian government. We hope that this issue will be resolved fairly quickly," says Rollinson.

APM Terminals also draws attention to the need for more coordination between ports and railways in the countries of the region. According to him, there was a lack of trust in this direction in the past.

"We see a real need to increase coordination between port and rail operators in Central Asia, here and in Europe. We need to work together to create more efficiencies and move more burdens through the system.

There was less trust and less coordination between these operators in the past. This has always been a relevant issue. We are not competitors of other ports in this corridor, so we should work together and find a common ground for cooperation," says Rollinson.

With the new terminal, the port will have to receive dry cargo as well as containers. The port forecasts major traffic flows from Central Asia.

The expansion project will involve the development of a 1,800m-long breakwater and a quay with a depth of 13.5m. The 400m-long multipurpose quay will support the loading/unloading of dry bulk cargo. The new berth is expected to have a capacity to handle 9,000 TEU container ships.

The length of new marine terminal totals 260 meters with a water depth of 13 meters. This allows the port to offer services to the larger capacity vessels and provide faster rotation, which improves the supply chain.