In a big step to bypass Russian rail routes and connect Ukraine with the landlocked nations of Central Asia and the Caucasus

In a big step to bypass Russian rail routes and connect Ukraine with the landlocked nations of Central Asia and the Caucasus, Georgia has approved a $250 million plan to double the capacity of Poti, its main Black Sea port. Denmark’s AP-Moeller Maersk and the Pace Group, a Georgian American transport company, are to invest the bulk of the money, building two deep water, 700-meter long berths, and one 1.6 km long protective pier. Served by a trans-Caucasus rail line that starts in Baku, on the Caspian, Poti’s expanded port is to be capable of handling an additional 500,000 containers and 9 million tons of bulk cargo a year, reports Interfax-Ukraine.