Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili revealed on 12 December that the Anaklia deep water port will be built with the government’s participation, which will subsequently own 51% of it.

The Prime Minister noted that an international competition will be announced to select the partners and companies which will participate in the project.

The foreign policy researcher and international secretary of the analytical centre Geocase, Nikoloz Khatiashvili told the Accent that the above-mentioned decision is important for two reasons:

"Two factors are important here: the first is that the state did not hand over the strategic project to someone else, which is an important decision in terms of national security. And the second factor - by participating in this project the state takes responsibility for the execution of it. It is a guarantee for the investor to invest more boldly in the project."

Khatiashvili emphasized that partner companies should not be connected to a hostile state.

As for the Russian factor, whose interests do not include the construction of the Anaklia deep water port, Khatiashvili recalls other international projects that were implemented despite Russia's opposition. According to him, among them are The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway projects.

"Implementation of the Anaklia deep water port project, on the one hand, will strengthen the transit role of Georgia, on the other hand, it will bring the country's role as a geopolitical player to a new level. Obviously, it's not in Russia's interest, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't do it. [...] I think that if a strong Western investor stands behind this project, it will be implemented regardless of Russia's efforts. When the government gets involved in the process and contributes to the implementation of the project as much as possible, it is clear that it is related to the national interests - this is also one of the indicators and shows the seriousness of the intention," he added.