A Global Gateway on the Black Sea

Georgia’s emergence as a critical gateway between East and West is bolstered by its portfolio of free-trade agreements—including those with the EU and China—which give Georgia access to a market of 2.3 billion people. Georgia’s business-friendly tax system offers low customs duties and charges 15% corporation tax only on distributed profit. For the past two years, Georgia has posted double-digit GDP growth, with an increase of 10.1% in 2022, following an uptick of 10.4% in 2021. The World Bank forecasts growth of 4% in 2023 and 5% in 2024, making Georgia a top-performing economy in the Eurasia region. In Q1 2023, Georgia beat that forecast with growth of 7.2%.

Georgia’s Black Sea trade route between Europe and Asia has also become increasingly attractive due to the global energy supply crisis, and Georgia will be a critical partner in bringing clean electricity from Central Asia to Europe.

Anaklia will be the starting point for the world’s longest submarine electricity cable, which will extend for 1,195 km (743 miles) under the Black Sea from Georgia to Romania. As part of the European Union’s Global Gateway initiative, this 3 GW high-voltage cable will connect the electricity systems of the Caucasus and continental Europe.

In December, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU, said that theproject could transform Georgia “into an electricity hub and integrate it in the EU internal electricity market.” Consultants from Italian company CESI and other partners in the cable project visited Anaklia in April to carry out surveys prior to installing the power transmission infrastructure.

At the nearby Black Sea port of Poti, a planned $250 million expansion project will greatly increase capacity to meet the demand for cargo handling, which has significantly grown since the start of 2022. The investment will support the creation of a deepwater port capable of accommodating 9,000-TEU vessels, and the expansion will include a breakwater of 1,700 meters and a 400-meter dock able to handle 150,000 TEUs of bulk cargo. The second stage of the port’s development will include a 300-meter container landing with three technologically advanced cranes. These improvements will double the annual container capacity of Poti Sea Port to over 1 million TEUs.

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