Report: EIB to Lend TANAP €1 Bn for Construction
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is planning to lend €1 bn for the construction of the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP), Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported on February 5. According to Anadolu Agency's report, Vice President of the EIB, Pim Van Ballekom, said that the bank will give the amount in installments.
"We'll also support other energy projects, like natural gas storage projects," the report quotes him as saying. One of those storage projects, Turkey's planned new natural gas storage project commissioned by Turkish Petroleum (TPAO), will receive funding of €500 mn, he said. The total cost of the TPAO project has not been finalised yet, he added.
He also said the bank could also provide funds for renewable energy (wind, solar, geothermal) projects, according to the needs of the Turkish government.
Since 2010, the EIB, the European Union's non-profit lending institution, has financed nearly 130 projects in Turkey, corresponding to a total investment of €12.8 bn and making a significant contribution to job creation and infrastructure modernisation. The bank supports projects in all 28 EU member states and also in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
The TANAP pipeline is a planned project that will ship Caspian gas to Turkey's western border. At its peak capacity, it is expected to transit around 60 bn m3 of gas every year the Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan. The pipeline is expected to come on stream in 2018.