THE ANAKLIA DEEP-SEA PORT PROJECT: TRANSPORT, LOGISTICS, AND POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE
https://doi.org/10.48137/26870703_2025_31_3_124
Abstract
The article discusses the construction of the Anaklia deepwater port in the Samegrelo-Zemo-Svaneti region of Georgia. It is indicated that the very idea of building such a deep-water port arose at the end of the Soviet era, and was considered as a promising economic project after Georgia gained independence in the 1990s.
The construction project officially began during the second half of Mikheil Saakashvili’s presidency, when it was conceived as a complement to the development of the city of Lazika, envisioned as the country’s future financial hub. The paper provides a detailed analysis of the suspension of the Anaklia port project and its revival under the rule of the Georgian Dream party (2012–2025).
It focuses, in particular, on the link between the port’s construction and Georgia’s domestic political landscape, highlighting the connection between the efforts of specific Georgian financial groups to advance the Anaklia project and the internal political struggle within Georgian Dream, especially between supporters and opponents of Prime Minister G. Kvirikashvili.
Special attention is given to the geopolitical importance of the Anaklia port project, emphasizing its role in the competition between China and the United States for political and economic influence over Georgia.
About the Author
V. V. Novikov
Russian Academy of Sciences ; Institute of CIS
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
NOVIKOV Vladimir V., PhD in History, Senior Researcher at the Caucasus Sector of the Center for Post-Soviet Studies ; Head of the Caucasus Department
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Review
For citations:
Novikov V.V. THE ANAKLIA DEEP-SEA PORT PROJECT: TRANSPORT, LOGISTICS, AND POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE. Geoeconomics of Energetics. 2025;(3):124-143. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.48137/26870703_2025_31_3_124
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