Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 12
By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend:
Georgia and the European Commission have reached an agreement on joint financing of commercial engineering of the gas pipeline project along the bottom of the Caspian sea, which will connect Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, the state concern "Turkmengas" said referring to the statement of the Adviser to the Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Vashakmadze.
Vashakmadze believes that, the agreement on commercial engineering is necessary for commencement of financing of the entire project by banking institutions.
"Within eleven months, we hope to get data on the costs of the construction of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline," Vashakmadze said at a press conference.
The project is estimated at $ 1.5 billion, which is much less than the amount that experts have previously assumed.
"The fact is that over the years, Turkmenistan has on its own built the East-West pipeline from gas fields in the area of the city of Mary to the coast of the Caspian Sea," the message says.
The Chairman of the State Concern "Turkmengaz" Myrat Archaev in early May at the International Gas Congress in Avaza drew attention to the fact that Turkmenistan continues to work on the project of construction of Trans-Caspian gas pipeline.
The Southern Gas Corridor, which includes the Trans-Caspian project, remains a priority for the EU.
The Ashgabat Declaration on Energy was signed in May 2015, by the Ministers of Energy of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the Vice-President of the European Commission on Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič.
The project of laying a 300-kilometer gas pipeline along the Caspian Sea bottom to the shores of Azerbaijan, as previously noted by the interested parties, is optimal for the delivery of Turkmen resources to the European market. Further, Turkmen fuel can get to Turkey, which borders with European countries.