Baku, Azerbaijan, April 25
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The construction of the micro-tunnel in Italy as part of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), envisaging transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, is ahead of the schedule, Trend reports citing Spanish Enagas, one of the TAP shareholders.
“After securing the final green light for the project from the Italian government, work began on the Italian coast in January 2019 to build a micro-tunnel spanning the 1,500 metres necessary to run the pipeline under the coastline,” said the company.
Enagas said the construction is currently ahead of schedule, and over 1,000 metres have now been built.
The Italian offshore part will begin upon completion of the tunnel, reads the report.
TAP project, worth 4.5 billion euros, is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union (EU). The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.
Connecting with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Greek-Turkish border, TAP will cross Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network.
The project is currently in its construction phase, which started in 2016.
Once built, TAP will offer a direct and cost-effective transportation route opening up the vital Southern Gas Corridor, a 3,500-kilometer long gas value chain stretching from the Caspian Sea to Europe.
TAP shareholders include 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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