Georgia’s Gakharia Took Part in TANAP Launching in Turkey

On November 30, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia traveled to Turkey to participate in the launching of the European connection of the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev inaugurated the project in the town of Ipsala in northwestern Turkey on the Greek border.

TANAP, which is running from Azerbaijan to Turkey via Georgia, is carrying gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz II field to Europe. The TANAP Project, along with the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) form the elements of the Southern Gas Corridor.

TANAP is expected to supply 6 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas to Turkey and additional 10 billion cubic meters to Europe a year. The pipeline will connect to Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), still under construction, that will then transfer 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Greece, Albania and Italy.

Route of TANAP that transports Azerbaijani gas to South-Western Europe via Georgia and Turkey. Source: www.tanap.com/

PM Gakharia wrote on Twitter on Saturday that the TANAP inauguration ceremony for European connection, marks “a new era in European energy security architecture.” “This project will bring more opportunities for our people and will strengthen our region’s role as an East-West energy corridor,” Gakharia tweeted.

Gakharia later noted that this is “a very important project, which adds even more value to Georgia’s transit function.” He said, TANAP project responds to all of the “most important challenges” of the Government of Georgia, which include “rapid economic growth, new jobs, and the country’s security.”

“It is of utmost importance for us to be holding today’s event with our neighbors, with our friends, as the TANAP project has already reached the borders of Europe allowing Azerbaijan gas transportation to European markets, of course, via Georgia,” Gakharia said.

According to PM’s press office, as of today, Georgia annually receives 5% of the 6 billion cubic meters of gas transported from Azerbaijan to Turkey. “In future, when 23 billion cubic meters of gas will be transited through the Southern Gas Corridor, Georgia will receive above 1.1 billion cubic meters of gas annually as a transit share,” the office reported.

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in his remarks that this project “is the symbol of the deep-rooted friendship” among the participating countries, and that they “will continue to strive for justice, stability and regional cooperation.”

“TANAP, European connection of which we are inaugurating today, is the most concrete sign of our country’s peaceful vision. During a period in which the world’s agenda is preoccupied with trade wars, terror, street incidents and instabilities, we are once again connecting Europe and Asia via TANAP,” he stated.

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