The Poti Sea Port ( ka, ფოთის საზღვაო ნავსადგური, ) is a major

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

and harbor off the eastern

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

coast at the mouth of the

Rioni River The Rioni ( ka, რიონი, ; , ) is the main river of western Georgia. It originates in the Caucasus Mountains, in the region of Racha and flows west to the Black Sea, entering it north of the city of Poti (near ancient Phasis). The city o ...

Poti Poti ( ka, ფოთი ; Mingrelian: ფუთი; Laz: ჶაში/Faşi or ფაში/Paşi) is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Its

UN/LOCODE UN/LOCODE, the United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations, is a geographic coding scheme developed and maintained by United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). UN/LOCODE assigns codes to locations used in trade and transpor ...

is GEPTI and is located at The Poti seaport is a cross point of the Trans-Caucasian Corridor/

TRACECA TRACECA (acronym: Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia) is an international transport programme involving the European Union and 12 member states of the Eastern European, Caucasus and Central Asian region.Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n port of Constanţa and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n port Varna with the landlocked countries of the Caspian region and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

History

The construction of a seaport at Poti was conceived shortly after 1828, when the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

conquered the town from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

which controlled it since the fractioning of the

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...

. In 1858, Poti was granted the status of a

port city A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

, but it was not until 1899 when, under the patronage of the mayor of Poti Niko Nikoladze, the construction entered the sprint stages and was completed by 1907. The seaport has since reconstructed several times, most recently under the sponsorship of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

government and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

. In 2007, the total throughput was 7.7 million tons and container handling was 185,000 TEU.

Privatization and current ownership

In April 2008, Georgia sold a 51 percent stake of the Poti port area to the

Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) is a United Arab Emirates investment authority in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. It issues licenses to operate within RAKIA owned special economic zones, provides business facilities and warehouses and p ...

(

RAKIA Rakia, Rakija, Rachiu or Raki (), is the collective term for fruit spirits (or fruit brandy) popular in the Balkans. The alcohol content of rakia is normally 40% ABV, but home-produced rakia can be stronger (typically 50%). Etymology Fruit s ...

), a company owned by the emirate of

Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain ...

, a member of the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

( UAE).

was tasked with managing the new port terminal and, through its Georgian subsidiary RAKIA Georgia Free Industrial Zone LLC, with developing a Free Industrial Zone (FIZ) in a 49-year management concession. The new FIZ was officially inaugurated by the

President of Georgia President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Mikheil Saakashvili on 15 April 2008. In 2009, RAKIA UAE acquired the remaining 49 percent stake of the port. However, following the Dubai debt crisis of November 2009, Sheikh Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr decided to sell off most assets held abroad in October 2010. This focus on domestic priorities was prompted by the disputed succession in Ras Al Khaimah following the death of Saud's father, Sheikh Saqr Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, and the need for Saud Bin Saqr to provide for his subjects. Subsequently, 80 percent of the port was sold in April 2011 to

APM Terminals APM Terminals is a port operating company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. A unit of Danish shipping company Maersk's Transport and Logistics division, it manages terminals and provides integrated cargo and inland services. It opera ...

, a unit of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

's A.P. Moller-Maersk. On 8 September 2011, RAKIA Georgia FIZ decided to alienate 15 percent of its shares in favor of Georgian businessman Gela ("Zaza") Mikadze in recognition of his management, making him a minority partner in the FIZ. Mikadze owns these shares through the UK based Manline Projects LLP company, which is owned by

offshore companies The term "offshore company" or “offshore corporation” is used in at least two distinct and different ways. An offshore company may be a reference to: * a company, group or sometimes a division thereof, which engages in offshoring business p ...

belonging to Mikadze.

Gallery

File:Poti et l'embouchure du Phase.jpg File:POTI.JPG File:Port poti.jpg File:Coast Guard in Poti, Georgia.jpg

References

External links

Poti Sea Port chart
"Maritime Transport Department of Georgia". Accessed on May 2, 2008.
Poti Freight Forwarder
"Black Sea Cargo" - a freight forwarder company operating in the Port of Poti. {{Georgia transit Ports and harbours of Georgia (country) Poti Ports and harbours of the Black Sea Buildings and structures in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti

History

Privatization and current ownership

Gallery

See also

References

External links