Black Sea Group: Your partner in infrastructure projects

Black Sea Group, with twenty years of experience in infrastructure projects, offers international investors a one-stop service for large-scale developments in Georgia. This includes the rehabilitation of Tbilisi Airport’s active runway, completed in just 12 weeks, and a similar project at Kutaisi Airport, delivered in 20 days thanks to round-the-clock operations. “We take pride in the experience we have building roads and critical infrastructure,” says General Director Amiran Mamutchadze. “Our niche expertise sets our company apart.”

That expertise has seen Black Sea Group expand its international project portfolio and collaborate with firms from Germany, Turkey and Kuwait, aligning its capabilities to European construction standards in the process.

As a result, the company is ideally positioned to offer partners the kind of integrated platform needed to ensure seamless delivery in large-scale construction. “We provide investors with a complete design-build service, combining design, engineering and construction expertise,” says Mamutchadze. “We assist investors with regulatory compliance, permitting, design development and material sourcing.”

Preparing to operationalise its new model, in 2023 the company undertook a strategic restructuring to become a holding group, forming new subsidiaries across logistics, materials and technical services to streamline operations and maximise efficiencies. Augmenting this is a new facility in Saakadze, near Tbilisi, designed to bring additional agility and flexibility in supporting material delivery, production and investor engagement. “We deliver solutions—from planning and design to regulatory compliance and construction,” notes Mamutchadze.

In this interview, the General Director outlines how Black Sea’s operations have developed over time, the strategy behind its new model and the strength of its project pipeline.

How have Black Sea Group’s operations evolved?

Initially, most of our projects were ordered by municipalities and publicly funded. We received investments from the government and a US grant under the Millennium Challenge programme. We worked on major projects to connect Georgia to other countries, mainly with roads connecting the regions. The aim of entering joint ventures with German, Turkish and Kuwaiti companies was to accumulate as much experience and expertise as possible.

We not only gained knowledge as a company but enabled the country to invest in connectivity over the last decade. The expertise and experience gained during those years attracts international investors, especially as Georgia positions itself as a transport and logistics hub in the Middle Corridor.

The advantage of working with international investors is that they bring their standards, culture, expertise and values. We are the pioneers of bringing European standards to Georgia, and we have been training our workers and engineers accordingly.

How do your specialisms shape company strategy?

Every airport runway in Georgia was handled by Black Sea Group, and we have also worked on projects outside of Georgia. Currently, we are negotiating offers to participate in international projects for airport infrastructure, and we have recently completed a contract for aircraft parking lots at Batumi Airport in which every stage of the project—from permissions and design through to construction—was fully carried out by us.

We are also in discussions with a significant player in airport construction and management regarding international airport accreditations, as well as discussions about projects in Varna, Bulgaria and Romania.

Domestically, we focused on strategic reform in 2023 to prioritise the areas where we excel and compete there. The arrival of Chinese companies in the Georgian market had an enormous impact on the construction field. But we found our expertise in complex projects in the mountainous areas of Georgia, which Chinese companies were unable to finish. Our company tends to take up the more complex projects.

How does your new operating model drive market advantage?

We decided to change our model and create sub-companies due to subsidised companies entering the market. Our sub-companies specialise in different areas, such as logistics and production, which makes them more efficient. Black Sea Group is a managing company that can help representatives and investors who are interested in communicating with all parties involved. We can easily explain to investors what needs to be done and get permissions on their behalf.

What role does your new facility in Saakadze play in supporting this approach?

We decided to focus on Tbilisi because there are major upcoming projects, including bypass roads, airports and a stadium, and investments from Emaar and UAE FDI will be directed to those projects. We started investing in a new base just 10km from Tbilisi, in Saakadze, to allow us to bring construction materials to other major projects. Location is everything, and thanks to our company’s restructuring, there will be different companies under the umbrella of the Black Sea Group that will produce construction materials using different techniques. This will also allow our partner companies to provide any assistance investors might need for construction projects.

What are your other current key projects?

Black Sea Group participated in the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project, where we were responsible for constructing the internal access roads at pump stations and related road infrastructure essential for the gas pipeline, in cooperation with Bechtel Enka JV. We also have a role to play in energy-related projects, not just for road infrastructure. We see a lot of opportunities in joint ventures and the transfer of oil and have already signed large-scale contracts for the construction of a wind farm and solar energy platforms, representing a strategic expansion into the renewable energy sector.