A prominent global court has denied a claim against the Georgian government involving a controversial infrastructure project on the country’s Black Sea coastline. 

The International Court of Arbitration has decided against the Anaklia Development Consortium’s (ADC) $1.5 billion claim to recoup investments in the project after the government canceled its contract in 2020, the consortium said in a statement. Details of the case are confidential, and the court did not release a statement of its own. 

“We are naturally disappointed in this outcome of the ICC tribunal as we continue to believe that the Georgian Government acted inappropriately to the detriment of all Georgians in its campaign to undermine the Anaklia Port Project,” the consortium said. 

At a press briefing, Georgian Minister of Justice Rati Bregadze said the result proved that “the Government of Georgia terminated the investment agreement legally.” 

The Georgian-American-European-led ADC was originally tapped in 2016 to build what may be Georgia’s most significant infrastructure project: a deepwater port in the town of Anaklia, not far from the border with the separatist territory of Abkhazia. The consortium started clearing land and attracting investors, but the government canceled its contract in 2020, citing missed deadlines and other issues. The consortium filed its claim in the International Court of Arbitration shortly thereafter. 

The ruling of a non-Georgian institution in the matter is likely to be seen as proof that there were reasonable grounds for the government to stop working with the ADC. The government’s position – backed up by this decision – is that it was forced to cancel the deal after the consortium failed to fulfill obligations. At the time, the ADC countered that the government was trying to sabotage the project. 

Since the initial filing of the case, the Georgian Dream-led government has taken a drastic turn away from integration with Western political, security, and economic institutions, including NATO and the European Union. As part of its geopolitical pivot, the government announced in May that a Chinese consortium had been selected to revive and complete the port project. 

The announcement generated lots of controversy, given that elements of the Chinese consortium have faced accusations of corrupt practices and shoddy standards. Locals are skeptical of the contracted companies’ track record. And in interviews with Eurasianet in June, they voiced doubt that the project would get off the ground, pointing to numerous unfulfilled promises made in the past. 

The port is important because of its potential role in the so-called Middle Corridor, a trade route connecting China and Europe circumventing Russia that has received renewed attention since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

In comments made after the ruling’s announcement, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze asserted that the government’s focus is on implementing the project with its new Chinese partners. “We are [now] looking ahead,” he said. “The appropriate company has already been selected, and construction works will begin very soon.”