Baku, Azerbaijan, June 18
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
The World Bank is ready to provide guarantees to attract funds for the Southern Gas Corridor project, head of the WB Baku office Larisa Leshchenko told Trend June 17.
She said that in such cases, the World Bank group has a variety of tools.
"For example, MIGA [Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency], which is a member of the World Bank," she said. "We may not give money, because in this case, the matter is a large amount, but we can give guarantees, which will allow the government to attract funds at lower interest, that is, at better conditions."
She said that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) may also give guarantees and help attract private investors.
The company has already placed four issues of unsecured interest-bearing bonds totaling $2.52 billion in order to finance the work withn the project. The total project cost is about $45 billion.
The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for EU. It envisages the transportation of gas from the Caspian Sea region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.
At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage.
As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline.
Azerbaijan joined the World Bank in 1992. Currently, the World Bank portfolio in the country includes 18 projects. During the period of cooperation, the Bank has allocated over $3 billion to Azerbaijan for implementation of 55 projects.
Edited by CN
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