Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz has described the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) as a priority project for the country.

TANAP is projected to transport natural gas from the Shah Deniz 2 field on the Caspian Sea and other Azerbaijani fields, through Turkey and to Europe. TANAP is part of the Southern Gas Corridor project along with the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), and the second stage of the development of the Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan.

Speaking Thursday at the first meeting of the Consultative Council on the Southern Gas Corridor in Baku, Yildiz said that Turkey was determined to build the gas pipeline.

Thursday’s meeting of the Consultative Council on the Southern Gas Corridor brought together the energy ministers of Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, and Georgia, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Stressing that the location of Turkey was an advantage for the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor, Yildiz described the Southern Gas Corridor, estimated to cost USD 45 B, as one of the most significant projects for gas supply to EU countries.

He assured that Turkey would use this advantage to the benefit of its neighbor countries and its European partners.

The 3.500km-long TANAP is to carry gas from Azerbaijan via Turkey to Greece, and from the Turkey-Greece border it will continue through Greece, Albania and will end in Italy. The gas pipeline is to be launched in 2019.

In its first stage, it is to carry 16 billion cubic meters of gas a year, with the volume to increase gradually to 22, 24, and 32 billion cubic meters. Under an agreement signed last year, Bulgaria is also to receive 1 bcm of gas from Azerbaijan every year between 2020-2045.

The construction of the TANAP gas pipeline will make Turkey a gas distribution center in the region.