Construction of the Turkish section of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline, (TANAP) will start on March 17 in the eastern province of Kars, with the participation of presidents from Turkey and Azerbaijan, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız said.
According to Yıldız TANAP project is worth $1.5 billion and will use approximately 1.3 million tons of steel pipes. "Only 200,000 tons of these pipes will be produced abroad, while 1.1 million tons will be produced in Turkey. This is of great importance for us. We’ll ensure several anti-damping probes to not have an adverse effect on the TANAP," he added. The initial capacity of TANAP is expected to be 16 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year, gradually increasing to 31 bcm.
Around 6 bcm of gas will be delivered to Turkey, and the remaining volume will be supplied to Europe. The gas will arrive in Turkey by 2018, and after the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) it will reach Europe early.