Azernews.Az

By Nigar Abbasova

Azerbaijan has fulfilled its commitments on financing of the ambitious Southern Gas Corridor by 50 percent. The Director-General of the SGC Closed Joint Stock Company (CJSC) Afgan Isayev told Azertag that the total volume of expenses required within the implementation of the project in 2014-2019 amounts to some $11.9 billion.

“So far, the company has drawn some $6 billion, or 50 percent of the required sum. Some 2 billion have been spent in 2016,” he clarified. He mentioned that work on the Phase 2 of the Shah Deniz Field Development is completed by 87.9 percent, while work on the expansion of South Caucasus Pipeline is implemented by 74.5 percent. The implementation of Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline project (TANAP), one of the core parts of the project, is completed by 59.3 percent, while the construction work on Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is over by 31.8 percent.

He also mentioned that the work is underway on the attraction of loans from such international financial organizations as the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Reflecting the importance of the Southern Gas Corridor for all countries involved in the program, a number of international financial institutions are supporting the project.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors earlier approved a $400 million loan for Turkey and a $400 million loan for Azerbaijan for the TANAP Project. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has also approved allocation of a loan worth $600 million for the project.

Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) is a large scale-project aimed at improving the security and diversity of the EU’s energy supply. Being one of the biggest construction projects of our times SGC is expected to bring some 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas from the Caspian region to Europe. Stretching over the area of 3,500 km, crossing seven countries and involving more than a dozen major energy companies, the project comprises several separate energy projects, including TANAP, South Caucasus Pipeline, Trans Adriatic Pipeline, and Shah Deniz 2 development.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

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