New seaport to be built in Poti

Tbilisi. 4 February. REPORT.AZ/ A new seaport will be built in Poti, Georgia.

Georgian Bureau of Report News Agency informs that Georgian PACE Group of Companies and the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) have signed an agreement in Tbilisi.

According to the document, $50 million will be allocated for the construction of the terminal. In addition to the sea terminal, the depth of the water area will be increased, which will allow to receive vessels with the capacity of about 50,000 tons of cargo.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze, representatives of the diplomatic corps and other guests participated the signing ceremony.

The new terminal will be located in Poti, in the territory of former Shipbuilding Plant. The total cost of the two-stage project is $120 million. dollars. The first phase is estimated at $ 93 million. $50 million of this amount will be allocated by OPIC.

Bakhtadze, who spoke at the ceremony, called the signing of the contract a very important event: "Logistics is of particular importance in the process of Georgia's transformation into the region's economic center. It will be a modern complex of new ports and terminals that will bring significant changes to both the country and the region's economy. The new port infrastructure is the next step forward for the transformation of Georgia into the transport corridor between Europe and Asia."

The prime minister noted that allocation of $ 50 million by OPIC once again proves that Georgia is a reliable and important partner of the US. "We have repeatedly stated that relations between Georgia and the US have never been at such a high level. It is especially important for me to develop economic direction in the relations between the countries."