Georgia plans to build a new port city

In 10 years, the city of Laziki will appear on the shores of the Black Sea, with one and a half million inhabitants, capable of jump-starting the economy of western Georgia.

We have decided to build a big city in Anaklia and Kulevi and call it Laziki," Saakashvili told residents of Zugdidi. "In 10 years, at least one and a half million people will live there. It will be the second largest city after Tbilisi, with the main commercial and economic center in western Georgia."
Saakashvili is confident that work on the construction of Lazika will begin next year and will employ thousands of people. The cost of the project is expected to be between 600 and 900 million dollars.
"We have already started negotiations with a number of large investment companies from Asian and European countries to attract funds for the construction of the new city," Saakashvili said. Saakashvili said.
Many Georgians are skeptical about this project: the country already has many problems that need immediate solutions. Moreover, it is not clear where so many residents will come from. Georgia has a total population of 4.5 million, of which 1.2 million live in Tbilisi. That is why Saakashvili appealed to "citizens who left Georgia and refugees from Abkhazia to come back and build a new city with us".
There is a strong political motive in the Lazika project, because it is located just a few kilometers from the border with Abkhazia. Saakashvili has always said that he will restore control over Abkhazia and South Ossetia, so he wants to create some kind of economic bridgehead for the return of Abkhazia.

Based on foreign press for ForTrader.org