Wondernet Express Investment Group is a logistics company that mainly operates in the field of transshipment of mineral fertilizers. To find out more, GEORGIA TODAY talked to Ambassador Mamuka Murjikneli, General Director & CEO of Wondernet Express Investment Group.
“At the beginning of 2017, the founders of Wondernet Express Investment Group launched a project on the development of a logistics corridor for transshipment of dry cargo from the Caspian basin countries to the Black Sea ports through Georgia,” Ambassador Murjikneli notes.
For this purpose, the company signed several strategic agreements with the main partners on this route – Georgian Railways, Azerbaijan Railways, Baku and Batumi ports.
Today we return to the historic function of being a corridor and connecting cargo from Central Asia to the rest of the world
Wondernet Express Investment Group was founded in April 2017 by ADIA, Covalent, and Trammo, Inc., a well-known US company ranked by Forbes as one of America’s 150 largest private companies. 25 million US dollars have been invested in building the terminal, which represents the largest US FDI in the Adjara region.
What is the main advantage that makes your company so special?
Before we get to the advantages of our company, we must mention the importance of our country and its logistics corridor, which has grown rapidly in the last couple of years. Those who decided to make use of this corridor saw that it is one of the fastest and safest paths for transshipment of their goods. Besides, it is the shortest way to transship cargo from Central Asia to the west and the rest of the world. What is most important for business – it is also financially profitable.
The total area of Mineral Fertilizers Terminal in Batumi Port is 1.5 hectares. It has three closed warehouses that can service 1.5 million tons of cargo per year and are equipped with loading and unloading conveyor systems, communication supply systems, video cameras, automatic fire alarm and automatic fire extinguishing systems, that ensure fast, safe and smooth operation of the terminal.
Tell us about your employees.
Our company employs up to 150 high-level professionals who ensure the smooth operation of the terminal. I’m glad that the vast majority of them are local residents, although we needed to bring in some professionals from abroad to help us keep the terminal running uninterrupted 24/7.
Tell us about your company’s future plans.
The more infrastructure projects implemented in the country becomes attractive. Georgia has always been a gateway between Asia and Europe. Today we return to this historic function of being a corridor and connecting cargo from Central Asia to the rest of the world. The plan to construct a new, deep-water port is being discussed, which we believe is vital both for the country and for the development of our business. If now, we manage to successfully serve 45,000-ton ships in port of Batumi, after the construction of the new deep-water port, these volumes will increase significantly. As an interested party, we are ready to invest our time and efforts in every infrastructure project that serves the purpose of expansion and development of our logistics corridor.
As for the human resources and their development as better professionals, we work with new technologies on a daily basis and study them, which provides them with a great deal of experience. This means the growth of qualified staff in Georgia, who will then be able to use this experience not only in our company but in this business in general.
Interview by Mariam Mtivlishvili
