Natia Turnava, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development in the Black Sea republic of Georgia, has suddenly cancelled the construction permit to build a new port in Poti
The Minister made this announcement just a day after the permit was announced by her own Ministry’s Construction and Technical Supervision Agency. The head of the agency was reported to have been dismissed.
Mrs Turnava (photo left is from the Georgian Journal) stepped in after Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) warned that the Anaklia Deep Sea Port project was at risk if the Georgian government sanctioned construction of the new Poti port. She said she knew nothing about the Poti license and revoked it.
However, the Poti Municipality had previously reported that the agency had approved the terms of use and construction of a new multi-purpose terminal the north of the Poti sea port.
It seems that competing vested interest in Georgia are trying to torpedo their rivals’ projects in Poti and Anaklia respectively. In April, the country’s Minister for Regional Development and Infrastructure, Maia Tskitishvili, said that ADC urgently needed to meet key demands by the project’s main backers before they would commit.
