'TANAP to be completely Turkic project'

The economic efficiency of the Trans Anatolian pipeline project (TANAP) will exceed investments contributed to its realization by two-three times.

This was told Trend on Tuesday by the head of the Turkish delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, Turkish MP Ismail Safi.

"The strategic cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan requires development of bilateral relations by expanding areas of cooperation. Major projects are only a beginning, they will be followed by other related projects. For example, while the implementation of the TANAP project will require investments in the amount of ten billion dollars, the follow-up projects will require investments of 20-30 billion dollars ," Safi.said.

Safi said TANAP is not only an important economic, but also a geo-strategic project.
Prior to TANAP project, Nabucco project was on the agneda, which is supported, both by Turkey and Azerbaijan,. However, Nabucco was a completely European project, and the timing of its implementation was the subject to lengthy negotiations.

"TANAP project was created with the will of Azerbaijani and Turkish government. It is not an alternative to Nabucco, it is a complement, it's a completely Turk project," Safi said.
According to him, TANAP will transport natural resources of Azerbaijan to Turkey and to Europe through its territory.

"This project is completely under the control of Azerbaijan and Turkey. Gas production is important, but ensuring its export is even more important," he said.

On June, 26 Azerbaijan and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement on TANAP implementation, which was ratified by Azerbaijani Parliament last week and was recently signed by the head of the state.

In December last year, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a consortium that will build a gas pipeline to supply gas from the Shah Deniz field to Europe through Turkish territory.

At present, a 20 per cent share in TANAP belongs to Turkish BOTAS, 80 per cent and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR).

The initial capacity of the pipeline is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters a year. About six billion cubic meters will be delivered to Turkey, and the rest - to Europe..


/Trend/