Silk Road Group S.A.

Silk Road Group and American Monolith, a Georgian company partially owned by Southeastern Export Corporation (a U.S. company based in the state of Georgia) have completed the construction of a 6,500 square-meter cold storage facility near the port of Poti, Georgia. The project was implemented with the support of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). The official opening ceremony is to be held in Poti on Friday, October 28.

The facility, built in accordance with international standards and using State-of-the-Art technology, is the first of its kind in the Caucasus. Everest Cool Solutions, a Canadian company owning and operating cold storage facilities all over the world for the past 30 years will manage the facility.

Cold storage capacity is critical for the development of Georgia’s agricultural sector, one of the country’s most important industries. The Poti facility will do so by providing a storage solution for the export of agricultural goods to western markets.

Furthermore the facility will be used to store and distribute frozen food products to the markets of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and further to the countries of Central Asia, including Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. This project is increasing the attractiveness as well as competitiveness of Poti port as a regional logistics hub for frozen and chilled products. In case of shipments for Central Asia a shift of cargo volumes from Baltic Ports, the Persian Gulf and competing Black Sea ports is expected.

The cold storage is 6,500 square meters large and has over 9,000 racked pallet positions in five separate storage rooms, providing a total capacity of up to 10,000 tons. A computerized temperature monitoring system allows to control the temperature separately for each storage room in a range between–23°C to +3°C. Real-time warehouse management system and lift equipment with onboard computers ensures proper and safe handling of food products entering and leaving the facility. The facility also offers custom bonded services, video surveillance systems and Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP).

The opening ceremony will take place at Everest Cool Solutions, 4 second Larnaka Street, Poti, on Friday, October 28, 2011, 3pm.