Russian energy giant Gazprom estimates the cost of constructing the first branch of the Turkish Stream pipeline at €4.3 billion ($4.72 billion), while the overall price tag for all four legs of this project are estimated at €11.4 billion, First Deputy Head of Gazprom's Project Management Department Aleksei Serebryakov said Monday.
"The total cost [of the Turkish Stream pipeline] is currently estimated at €11.4 billion excluding VAT. The cost of the first branch of the gas pipeline will be about 4.3 billion euros excluding VAT," Serebryakov said on a conference call with investors.
In July, a source in the Russian Energy Ministry told journalists that Russia had sent a proposal for the construction of the first branch of the gas pipeline to Turkey.
The Turkish Stream will have an annual capacity of 63 billion cubic meters and will run from Russia to Turkey beneath the Black Sea. The pipeline will continue to a hub on the Turkish-Greek border, from where it would be extended to Southern Europe.
The Turkish Stream gas pipeline was launched as a replacement to the South Stream pipeline project that Moscow cancelled in December 2014, citing the "non-constructive" stance of the European Union on the issue.