The Georgian government has initiated a reassessment of the master plan for the Anaklia deep-sea port, signaling that earlier assumptions about the project may be under revision. According to a newly disclosed contract, the Ministry of Economy’s Anaklia Deep Sea Port Development Agency has hired PORT CONSULTANT ROTTERDAM to analyze alternative development scenarios for the project.
The contract, signed on April 24 and valued at €101,480, tasks the Dutch consultancy with a full review of the existing master plan and the development of alternative options. This includes revising capital expenditure estimates, assessing infrastructure layouts, and proposing updated financial frameworks for the port’s long-term development.
In addition, the consultant is required to produce cargo traffic forecasts for Anaklia up to 2050 and provide recommendations on the port’s future governance and operational model. These outputs suggest that the government is not only refining technical assumptions but also reconsidering the commercial and institutional structure of the project.
The agreement does not explicitly state why the revision is necessary, but it comes at a time when negotiations with the selected private partner, Chinese state-owned consortium CCCC, remain unresolved. CCCC was declared the preferred bidder in the 2024 international tender, and earlier government statements suggested that an investment agreement would be signed shortly afterward. However, nearly two years later, no final contract has been concluded.
Government officials have previously acknowledged that several key issues remain open, including risk-sharing mechanisms, financing structure, and guarantees related to cargo flows. The government maintains that it will only sign an agreement that does not include sovereign guarantees for loans or cargo volumes, while the investor has reportedly raised concerns about the project’s commercial viability.
The renewed master plan review effectively signals that the assumptions underpinning ongoing negotiations—such as traffic forecasts, investment costs, and project phasing—are now being updated. This may indicate that talks with CCCC have not yet reached a stage where a binding investment agreement is feasible.
Despite delays in the core investment deal, physical development of the port is still moving forward in a limited capacity. In 2026, the government plans to spend 50 million GEL on infrastructure works under a previously signed contract with Belgian company Jan De Nul. The company is responsible for seabed dredging and the construction of a breakwater system, part of a broader $204 million infrastructure package.
The Anaklia project, long promoted as Georgia’s strategic gateway to the Black Sea and a key component of regional transit ambitions, has repeatedly faced delays and redesigns. The latest move to revisit its master plan adds another layer of uncertainty to a project that has already undergone multiple restructuring attempts over the past decade.
