The amount allocated for the construction of the Anaklia Deep-Sea Port has been reduced in the final version of the 2026 budget. In particular, the amount allocated for the construction of water infrastructure has been reduced by 100 million GEL compared to the first and second versions of the budget, where 150 million GEL was envisaged. The document prepared with the third, final submission states that 50 million GEL will be spent on the construction of the Anaklia Port next year.

"The allocation for the construction of the water infrastructure required for the Anaklia Deep-Sea Port, taking into account the funds allocated last and current years and the current need in 2026, is reduced by 100.0 million GEL compared to the first version of the budget draft and is set at 50.0 million GEL," reads the explanatory note to the draft law, which has already been submitted to Parliament.

It is worth noting that next year's budget also includes funds for the construction of an 18-kilometer access road to the port. 45 million GEL is planned to be allocated in this section, which has not changed compared to the initial version of the 2026 budget draft. Accordingly, in total, 95 million GEL will be spent next year on the construction of both the port itself and the access road. Already in 2027, it is envisaged that 125 million GEL will be spent on the construction of the road, and another 125 million GEL on the arrangement of the port infrastructure.

The 2026 budget draft is accompanied by an appendix on capital projects, which states that the procedures for obtaining a construction permit for the construction of water infrastructure (breakwater and dredging) are underway. “After receiving the construction permit, the construction of the first section of the breakwater will begin. In early 2026, it is planned to enter a small dredging vessel/landfill to carry out soil improvement works, in July 2026, it is planned to bring a large dredging vessel into the waters of the Anaklia Sea Port and begin dredging works, and the aforementioned works will be completed in the spring of 2027".

The completion date for the breakwater construction and dredging works stipulated in the contract is May 14, 2027, although it is expected that it will be completed by the end of 2026 or early 2027. “As a result, the organization will have a large part of the water infrastructure in operation (breakwater, deepened entrance channel and return channel), and in order to fully complete the construction of the water infrastructure, it is necessary to additionally build a berth, which is a separate procurement object,” the project description states.

It is noteworthy that the port bed deepening works on site are being carried out by the Belgian company Jan De Nul based on a contract signed in the summer of 2024. The government is implementing the Anaklia Port projects as a shareholder of the port, while negotiations are ongoing with the Chinese state corporation CCCC, which was named the preferred participant in the international competition in May 2024, although no official contract has been signed with it yet. "There are 6 main issues that need to be clarified," Irakli Kobakhidze said in September of this year, when BMG inquired about the process of negotiations with CCCC.

According to preliminary calculations, after the implementation of the first phase, the port should reach a throughput of approximately 600 thousand TEU (7.8 million tons) per year. Also, the bottom of the new port in Anaklia should be deepened to at least 16 meters.