The World Bank has approved loans totaling US$800 million for the Trans Anatolian natural gas pipeline (TANAP) project. Turkey and Azerbaijan will receive US$400 million each, which will be supplied through the World Bank’s subsidiary, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), according to Anadolu Agency (AA).
BOTAS and the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) closed Joint Stock Company will obtain the loans for Turkey and Azerbaijan, respectively.
The project will finance infrastructure investments for the TANAP pipeline system.
According to AA, TANAP’s General Manager, Saltuk Duzyol, stated: “The slump in global oil prices and low commodity prices also gives the TANAP project an opportunity to shrink its budget and save up to US$3.2 billion. Initially, the investment budget for TANAP was estimated at US$11.7 billion, but with the help of low oil prices, we reduced our budget to US$8.5 billion."
Hurriyet Daily News cited Cyril Muller, World Bank’s Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, as stating: “TANAP will not only boost competitiveness and create economic opportunities for people in Azerbaijan and Turkey, it will also support regional trade, improve connectivity and support energy security in Turkey and in Europe.”
Set to commence operation in 2018, the 1850 km TANAP pipeline is part of the SGC initiative, alongside the Trans Adriatic pipeline (TAP) and the South Caucasus pipeline. According to a World Bank statement, TANAP accounts for over one half of the 3500 km SGC pipeline system. Bringing natural gas from the Shah Deniz 2 gas field (Azerbaijan), its initial capacity is 16 billion m3, with 6 billion m3 being used for domestic supplies in Turkey and the rest being transported to Greece, Albania, and Italy and further into Europe.