On 12 February, the Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) released a public statement, which read that the consortium will go for international arbitration with the Government of Georgia (GoG) in regard to the Anaklia Deep Sea Port, reported 1tv.ge. 

The full statement read that:

“[The] ADC has always acted and continues to act in accordance with its obligations under the Investment Agreement. ADC has invested more than USD 75 million to make the Anaklia Deep Sea Port a reality and has worked hard to find and appoint a port terminal operator, prepare the particulars for the design and build of the facility, and start significant dredging and other preparatory ground works on the site.

Unfortunately, the GoG has been unwilling to work together with ADC and others to find solutions to issues raised by internationally recognised lenders and investors. Ultimately, the actions of the GoG have made it impossible for ADC to finalise key terms with potential investors whose involvement is essential to the continuation and future success of the Anaklia project. The GOG is well aware of the problems it created yet has blamed ADC for the lack of necessary investment and used this as an excuse to terminate the Investment Agreement.

xADC does not accept that the GoG is entitled to terminate the Investment Agreement. Inevitably, however, the purported termination has had an impact on all involved – the GoG has called on substantial pre-existing security provided by ADC and our dredging contractor Van Oord has had to remove its equipment from site. Practically, this means that no further physical works can be undertaken at the site and it is unclear when the Anaklia Port Project will be built and able to operate. ADC is fully committed to taking all legal and other steps necessary to protect its position, including the commencement of international arbitration proceedings in Geneva. Any suggestion by anyone, including the Government of Georgia, to the contrary is wholly incorrect.” 

On 9 January, the Georgian government began procedures to cancel the investment agreement signed with the Anaklia Development Consortium (starting from 3 October 2016) to build the Anaklia Deep Sea Port. Georgian Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Maia Tskitishvili said that the Deep Sea Port would be built anyway, as it is vital for the Georgian economy, and that the  government started the search for a new partner to build the port. 

On 17 December 2019, the Georgian Ministry of Infrastructure stated that the interim deadline for the Anaklia Development Consortium to submit bank loan agreements expired. The consortium issued a statement in response to the Ministry’s announcement, saying that a potential investor still existed. The last investment development related to the deep sea port was recorded on 28 October 2019 when Meridian Capital NL B.V declared in an open letter to the Georgian Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development that it would be unable to invest in the port (Caucasus Watch reported).