Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.13
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, was one of the main contributors to overall investment in Albania in 2017, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said in its Transition Report 2018-2019.
“The economy continues to grow strongly. GDP grew by 3.8 percent in 2017, following 3.4 percent in 2016. Growth in 2017 was driven equally by private consumption and investment. The construction of two major energy projects, namely the Norwegian investment in hydropower plants on the river Devoll and the Trans Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP), was the main contributor to overall investment,” said the report.
However, the Bank believes that the direct economic impact on GDP is expected to decelerate in the short term (construction continued to slow down in the first quarter of 2018, following its peak in the first half of 2017).
“Economic activity accelerated in the first half of 2018, with growth reaching 4.4 percent year-on-year, driven mainly by industry (including electricity production, fuelled by heavy rainfall particularly during the second quarter following a prolonged drought in the second half of 2017), which contributed more than half of value added,” said the report.
TAP worth 4.5 billion euros 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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