EBRD helps natural gas firm expand across Turkey

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s natural gas distribution company Enerya is expanding to 18 towns across eight provinces of Turkey, thanks to support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Garanti Bank.

Both lenders are financing a part of the investment program, with each providing a 100 million Turkish lira loan (24 million euros), the EBRD said in a statement on Dec. 13.

As a result, 65,000 new households in the provinces of Aksaray, Aydın, Denizli, Erzincan, Konya, Karaman, Niğde and Nevşehir will be connected to the gas grid by 2025.

“Natural gas will provide people and businesses with a low-carbon, economical alternative to expensive and less efficient liquefied petroleum gas, fuel oil and electricity, which are currently used for heating in those areas. The investment will cut 65,000 tons of CO2 emissions from 2022 onwards,” the EBRD statement read.

Enerya carries out natural gas distribution services in 11 Turkish provinces, including the major urban areas of Konya, Antalya and Denizli. By 2016, the company had reached over a million households, supplying 3.6 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

In the past three years alone, with previous financing from the EBRD and local lenders, the company has connected almost 300,000 new households to the gas supply.

The company is backed by the diversified Turkish conglomerate STFA and the global private markets investment manager Partners Group of Switzerland.

“At the EBRD we are committed to supporting communities in remote Turkish regions. Helping tens of thousands of households and businesses gain access to a cheaper and more environmentally-friendly home heating alternative is part of these efforts,” said Arvid Tuerkner, EBRD Managing Director for Turkey.

Harry Boyd-Carpenter, EBRD Director for Power and Energy Utilities, added: “Expanding the gas distribution network in Turkey is a tremendous opportunity to improve the quality of life for Turkish households and deliver a cleaner, cheaper and more secure energy supply. We are very pleased to work again with STFA and its subsidiary Enerya, as well as our co-financier Garanti Bank to support this initiative.”

“We will continue to invest and streamline our operations in order to provide the best service for our customers while expanding our network with an innovative approach, acting as pioneers in the Turkish natural gas market. With these investments we support our government’s vision to supply natural gas to cities across Turkey,” said Aslan Uzun, STFA Energy Group President.