Baku, Azerbaijan, May 19
By Orkhan Quluzade - Trend:
The construction work of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) is totally safe, head of the TANAP consortium Saltuk Duzyol said, Anadolu news agency reported.
"All employees involved in the project take safety courses," Duzyol said. "The TANAP consortium treats human health and the environmental cleanliness with responsibility."
Duzyol went on to add that 106 archaeological sites, as well as nine species of fauna and one species of flora, which were not previously known, have been discovered during the construction of the TANAP.
"Today, more than 5,000 people are involved in the construction of TANAP," Duzyol said. "The number of workers will reach 8,000 when the last stage of construction starts."
TANAP project envisages transportation of gas of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field from Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey.
Turkey will get gas in 2018 and after completing the construction of Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), it will be delivered to Europe in early 2020.
Currently, the shareholders of TANAP are: the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) - 58 percent, Botas - 30 percent and BP - 12 percent.