EBRD Considers Major Investment in TAP Project

TIRANA, December 30

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) along with other partners are considering becoming investors on the implementation of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
“It is premature to go into any further details at this stage regarding this commitment,” a confidential source said for azernews.
Earlier, the president of EBRD Suma Chakrabati said that TAP is a project of major importance, given that it will provide energy security for the region through sources that do not cause environmental pollution.
““In the energy sector, the EBRD is well aware of the need to secure energy for Europe which is affordable and acceptable from the point of view of climate change,” Chakrabarti said.
“In this context, we are positive about the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, a project that develops the three characteristics of energy security, energy access and environmental sustainability,” he added.
By the middle of 2016, former managing director in charge of the Power and Energy and Natural Resources sectors at the EBRD, Riccardo Puliti said the bank was considering the idea of collecting a loan of Euro 1.5 billion for this project. This would be the maximum loan amount that EBRD could provide.
Moreover, even the European Investment Bank considers as possible to invest about Euro 2 billion in TAP project.
TAP project is an 870-kilometre long pipeline, which will start from the tie-in with the TANAP portion of the Southern Gas Corridor project, at the Greece/Turkey border. The pipeline will then go through Greece and Albania, to eventually cross subsea the Adriatic Sea to end in Puglia, Italy, where it will connect to the Italian natural gas network.

News Source: Monitor