Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 21
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved allocation of a loan worth $600 million for the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project, the bank said in a message Dec. 21.
The AIIB said that the loan will be allocated for the Southern Gas Corridor CJSC.
Azerbaijan is one of the founders of the AIIB that was created in June 2015. The country’s share in the bank’s share capital is 0.2851 percent ($254.1 million).
The total cost of the TANAP project is $8.6 billion. The project will be financed by the AIIB, World Bank (WB), European Investment Bank (EIB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and others.
Meanwhile, in total, the WB plans to allocate $800 million, the EBRD and EIB - $2.1 billion and additional $3 billion are expected to be allocated by other financial institutions. Moreover, the Azerbaijani government plans to allocate additional $2.1 billion.
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on Dec. 21 approved a $400 million loan for Turkey and a $400 million loan for Azerbaijan for the TANAP project.
TANAP project envisages transportation of gas of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field from the 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), gas will be delivered to Europe in early 2020.