UNM’s Gotsiridze slams gov’t for plans to engage in construction of Anaklia deep-sea port

Roman Gotsiridze, an MP of the United National Movement opposition party, on Monday slammed the Georgian Dream government for its recent decision to get involved in the construction of the Anaklia deep-sea port in the country’s west and hold 51 percent of shares of the maritime infrastructure. 

“Instead of building similar projects with private investments, the government will have to take on foreign debt, ” he told Front News. 

The MP also noted the government’s involvement in such projects “means inefficient spending of resources, corruption and appropriation of budget funds by government-related businesses, which has happened many times during the implementation of large infrastructure projects”. 

“The construction of the port would have a significant impact on the improvement of Georgia’s transit potential, and it would also increase the political role of the country in the region. Stopping this project by Bidzina Ivanishvili [ the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party] was a crime against the country. Today it is already clear that Russia was interested in this. If not for the harmful actions of the government, the first multi-tonnage ship was supposed to arrive in Anaklia in December 2020,” he said. 

For his part the government had accused the previous tender-winner, Anaklia Development Consortium, of the delay in the construction.