Anaklia, located on Georgia's Black Sea beaches, is more than a small resort. It is preparing to become a megaport, built and managed by Chinese companies, Voice of America (VOA) reports, quoted by NOVA.
Last month, the Georgian government awarded a Sino-Singaporean consortium a 49 percent equity ownership in the project, which is believed to be worth several billion dollars. The decision was announced a day after authorities pushed through the controversial "foreign agents" law, which is seen as pushing the country towards pro-Russian authoritarianism and was met with massive protests and demonstrations. Experts point out that the Georgian government is considering an option in which it loses Western investments and compensates for this with money from Russia and China.
The port was originally supposed to be built by a mixed US-Georgian consortium, but the government terminated the deal in 2020, resulting in mutual recriminations between the authority and the consortium.
The port would give China access to trade routes to Europe that bypass Russia. Critics believe the BIP project left Georgia in a so-called “debt trap”, unable to service the Chinese loans used to pay for the infrastructure.
The Georgian government owns 51% with no funds for the port. “I am almost certain that this money will also come to China. And we can end up in a situation where Sri Lanka, the Philippines or Malaysia fell into," said Tinatin Kishadeli from the organization "Civic IDEA".
China already has a presence in Georgia, including a megamall and hotel complex. In addition, Chinese companies are also building new highways. Last year, Tbilisi concluded a strategic partnership agreement with Beijing as part of China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative. However, Chinese direct investment is a relatively small share in Georgia – over 47 billion dollars in 2023. This is half of the US and European investments.
“Chinese companies are everywhere. But these are not really investments – this is budget money of Georgia, which is given to the executive, won the public order. The reality is that any public order that is over BGN 100 million is usually won by Chinese companies, Kishadeli also stated.
The Georgian government believes China could become a major trading partner, but other countries are calling for caution. “China and Russia think strategically when they do something like this. They want to invest, then have the political influence,”, commented Giga Bedineishvili from the Free Business University in Tbilisi, according to VOA.