Patarkatsishvili speaks of reasons for selling Kulevi terminal

He said that, after large Kazakh investment in Adjara, and Azerbaijan emerging as a strategic partner for Georgia, after the Azeri state oil company expressed interest in buying the terminal he thought such a sale would restore the balance of foreign investment in the region.

According to Patarkatsishvili, the terminal is nearly finished and can start functioning soon. The oil terminal is already ready and the natural gas terminal will be able to start operating in the near future.

The businessman says that currently the oil terminal's capacity is 10 million tons. It is planned that the capacity will be increased to 15-20 million tons.

A laboratory of international standards has also been constructed in Kulevi to monitor the quality of the products. The plant will go into full operation in the second half of 2007. The Messenger