Gas distribution companies invest 17 billion liras last year

ISTANBUL

The combined investment of natural gas distribution companies amounted to 17 billion Turkish Liras ($527 million) last year, according to a report by the Association of Natural Gas Distributors of Türkiye (GAZBİR).

Natural gas distribution companies plan to make 75 billion liras worth of investments in the 2024-2026 period in the distribution network. With those investments, natural gas will be provided to 130 additional residential areas by 2026.

As of the end of 2023, the length of Türkiye’s natural gas distribution network reached 202,100 kilometers, including steel, polyethylene and service lines, while the distribution network grew by an average of 7 percent annually in the 2018-2022 period, according to the report.

Starting from this year until 2026, over 15,000 kilometers of network construction is planned each year. By the end of 2026, the length of the network is expected to exceed 250,000 kilometers with those new investments in natural gas distribution.

Natural gas was supplied to all 81 provinces of the country and 845 residential areas as of the end of 2023. Some 84 percent of the population had access to natural gas as of 2023, up from 81 percent in 2019. The number of population actively using natural gas reached 62.7 million, rising 3.3 percent from the previous year.

The number of natural gas subscribers was 20.8 million last year in Türkiye, which ranked third in Europe in terms of subscribers. Türkiye is expected to claim the second spot in terms of gas subscribers in Europe in 2025, according to the report.