The signing off of the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) agreement is a milestone for the realization of the Southern Gas Corridor, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Thursday.
Aliyev noted that 65 percent of the TANAP project, 80 percent of the South Caucasus Pipeline, 35 percent of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), and 90 percent of the Shah Deniz field, all of which constitute elements in the Southern Gas Corridor, have been finalized.
The Southern Gas Corridor includes three major pipeline projects: the expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline through Azerbaijan and Georgia, the construction of the TANAP across Turkey and the construction of the TAP through Greece, Albania and into Italy.
'We signed the agreement on TANAP with President Erdogan. The signing ceremony in Istanbul became a milestone for the subsequent agreements. If TANAP was not signed off, the Southern Gas Corridor project would not be able to be realized,' he added.
Aliyev also hailed that expenditure for the project, which came in under budget in the project that was supported by financial institutions like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
The World Bank’s board of directors approved loans of $400 million each for Turkey and Azerbaijan for the TANAP project in December 2016. Furthermore, the bank signed a financing agreement with the Azerbaijani government and Turkey’s Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS) for the project in early 2017.
Aliyev said that the project, which is being developed with the highest ecological standards, is on schedule for its completion.
The Southern Gas Corridor projects intend bringing natural gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe.
Reporting by Ruslan Rehimov in Baku, Azerbaijan
Writing by Dilara Zengin
Anadolu Agency
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