The Second Transnational Project Meeting (TPM2) of the “Blue for Black – Blue Port Index for BSEC Countries” project was held on 14 May 2026 in Batumi, Georgia. The meeting was hosted and coordinated by the project partner Tourism Institute.
Representatives of the project Lead Partner, Bursa Technical University, together with representatives of Burgas Free University and Tourism Institute, attended the meeting.
The meeting focused on reviewing the data collected from the target ports in Türkiye, Bulgaria and Georgia under Work Package 1. The partners assessed the completeness, comparability, traceability and reliability of the datasets and agreed to complete the remaining information through cooperation with the relevant ministries and competent national authorities. The consortium also agreed to carry out a systematic verification of all collected data to ensure consistency and accuracy across the three participating countries.
During the meeting, Bursa Technical University presented the methodology and calculation framework of the Blue Port Index, developed within the project. The consortium discussed the proposed normalisation, scoring and weighting methods for the index, which is structured around three key dimensions: Sustainability, Resilience and Connectivity.
The preliminary Blue Port Index analysis results were also presented to the project partners. Based on these findings, the consortium exchanged views on the strengths and areas for improvement identified across the participating countries and ports and discussed the methodological approach that will guide the next phase of the project.
The meeting also addressed the development of the Blue Port Road Map, to be coordinated by the Tourism Institute, and the digital Blue Port Index Platform, which will be developed by Burgas Free University. The platform is planned to include country and port profiles, index calculation tools, performance visualisation dashboards and downloadable project outputs.
The meeting was also attended by Ms. Nino Kajaia, Legal Advisor at the BSEC Permanent International Secretariat (PERMIS), representing the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). On behalf of BSEC, Ms. Kajaia delivered a presentation introducing the BSEC Project Development Fund and highlighting the Organisation’s project-oriented activities that support regional cooperation. Her participation further strengthened the cooperation between the project consortium and the BSEC framework.
The Second Transnational Project Meeting marked an important milestone in the implementation of the Blue for Black Project, enabling the transition from the data collection phase to the index development and strategic planning stage. In line with the decisions taken during the meeting, the project partners agreed to advance the next phase of activities towards developing a scientifically robust and comparable Blue Port Index that will support the assessment of the sustainability performance of ports across the Black Sea Region.
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