World Bank Approves TANAP Financing

On December 20th, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $400 million loan to Turkey and a $400 million loan to Azerbaijan to finance infrastructure investments for the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project.  

The project will transport natural gas from Azerbaijan to and from Turkey, and further to Europe, aiming to diversify Azerbaijan’s gas export markets and improve the security of the energy supply in Turkey and South Eastern Europe. At 1,850 km, TANAP accounts for over one half of the 3,500 km Southern Gas Corridor pipeline system from Azerbaijan to Italy.

The recipients of funding are the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Closed Joint Stock Company with the guarantee of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Boru Hatları İle Petrol Taşıma Anonim Şirketi (BOTAŞ) with the guarantee of the Republic of Turkey.

“We are very pleased to be part of a coalition of partners supporting TANAP, a component of the transformational Southern Gas Corridor, which will bring natural gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe,” said Cyril Muller, World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia. “TANAP will not only boost competitiveness and create economic opportunities for people in Azerbaijan and Turkey, it will also support regional trade, improve connectivity, and support energy security in Turkey and in Europe.”

This project is part of the Southern Gas Corridor Program, which, in addition to TANAP, includes the development of the Shah Deniz 2 gas field in Azerbaijan; an expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline across Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey; and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which carries gas through Greece and Albania and under the Adriatic Sea to Southern Italy.