Common Water Bodies

Anaklia is a resort village on the Black Sea’s southeastern coast to the Enguri River’s left side. The Enguri River is a significant waterway connecting Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia. The river originates from the high Caucasus near Georgia’s highest mountain, Shkhara. It flows through the mountain valleys to the northwest before turning southwest and emptying into the Black Sea near Anaklia. Abkhazia is a de facto state located just a few kilometres away from Anaklia and has been the site of numerous conflicts since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 2011, the former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili announced a large-scale project on the Black Sea. The project aimed to construct a new city and port named Lazika near the fishing village of Anaklia. The project aimed to improve mobility and logistics in the area and create a bridge between Europe and Asia. The project still needs to be completed and was later transferred to the Anaklia Development Consortium, a joint venture between Georgia and the United States. The consortium, which does not exist anymore, had new plans to transform the village into a private smart city named Anaklia City. However, the city’s future and its natural resources remain uncertain. The project left several buildings on the ground, including remnants of a futuristic city never built. These include the completed but never opened city hall by the architectural firm Architects of Invention, a large-scale sculpture by German architect Jürgen Mayer H., and a deep-sea harbour.