TANAP offers $8 billion in investment

Merve Erdil ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

Over $8 billion in investment is expected to be made in Turkey during the construction of the TANAP. AFP photo

At least $8 billion in investment will be made in Turkey during the construction of a pipeline that will carry Azeri gas through Turkey, offering a number of opportunities for local companies to benefit, Socar Turkey’s president has told daily Hürriyet.

The Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP), construction on which is expected to start by the end of 2014, is expected to begin operations by 2018 with a 16 billion cubic meter capacity.

As the tender process for the pipes’ procurement has been initiated, the impetus that will emerge in the infrastructure sector in Turkey has raised excitement. Turkey’s energy minister said 28 companies, nine of which are local companies, have applied for preliminary qualification for the pipes to be used on the pipeline.

Local pipes to be used in 1,800 km long pipeline

Authorities will begin to review applications by Aug. 27, and qualified bidders will be invited to the tender.

Kenan Yavuz, the president of the Turkish arm of Azeri energy giant Socar, which is also one of the partners of TANAP, said 2 million tons of pipes will be used for the project.

“The project has a high added-value in terms of locality, because of the pipes to be used and the employment to be created in the construction of the line,” he said.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said Aug. 14 that they were not mandating that local pipes be used as the project is international, but strongly encouraged Turkish firms to gear up efforts to participate in the endeavor.
“The Turkish economy and employment would benefit if a local company were undertaking the 1,800-kilometer-long pipeline’s construction,” he said in an interview broadcast jointly by NTV and CNBC-e.
“If we can manufacture these pipes, importing them wouldn’t be appropriate at all,” he said.