Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.27
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The Ionian Adriatic Pipeline (IAP), which is expected to be connected with the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), envisaging Azerbaijani gas supply to Europe, is a priority regional project, said Montenegro’s Prime Minister Dusko Markovic.
He made the remarks during the Summit of the Western Balkan Six at the headquarters of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, said a message on the government portal of Montenegro.
“From Montenegro's standpoint, priority regional project is the Adriatic-Ionian Corridor, as well as the modernization and expansion of railway infrastructure as a precondition for better economic integration and movement of people and goods, and linking to European corridors,” said the prime minister.
Markovic pointed out that it is important to strengthen regional economic cooperation, which should reinforce the stability of the region, simplify the functioning of the economy in the region and contribute to faster economic growth.
IAP is a proposed natural gas pipeline in Southeastern Europe that will stretch from Albania through Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Split in Croatia. The capacity of the pipeline will amount to five billion cubic meters of gas per year.
TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.
The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy’s south.
TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).
TAP’s shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).
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