Gharibashvili said the construction of the port was scheduled to start next year and hand the Government a 51 percent share in the facility, with the rest used as the obligation of the investor to attract appropriate investments.

Gharibashvili said he had brought the project, which represents a Georgian initiative, as one of the flagship projects to Brussels in 2021, with Azerbaijan, Romania and Hungary joining the effort, and noted the project was in an active phase and had full support from the European Union.

The PM also mentioned his Government was working on the development of four large-capacity hydropower plants, including the Khudoni plant in the country’s north-western mountainous region of Svaneti, and noted a “modified form” of the project would have a “minimal effect” on the environment and the region.

Gharibashvili said the project had been sold off in 2012 and was bought back by the new Government, and added it was of great national importance.

He added development works were also ongoing for the Neskra hydropower plant in Svaneti, with the planned construction works involving a combined cycle, modern thermal power station with a capacity of 350-430 MW, the largest in Georgia.

,,Now we are [also] actively working on the use of renewable energy. Today we signed 245 contracts. The estimated total installed capacity of the potential power plants will be over 3,000 MW, with an estimated output of approximately 13 billion kWh. This, of course, involves the investment of several billion dollars”, - Gharibashvili said.

The Government head added his office had held “active” negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, resulting in the introduction of a new Contracts for Difference scheme and the first auction of 300 MW of installed capacity.

He added 27 winning companies had been identified, with the total output of their projected facilities at 1,100 billion kWh.