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Previous estimations for SCG completion suggested a $45bn price tag.
The last 8 km stretch of TAP, on Italian territory, is the most sensitive politically. The local population have resisted the pipeline, fearing for their beaches and tourism industry. According to Baylarbayov’s statements in the interview, a micro-tunnel allowing the pipeline to avoid the beach of San Foca, the landing point in southern Italy, has now been completed. The conservative timing to make TAP operational was the end of 2020, and possibly earlier than that, he added.
“Whatever we do on the territory of Italy is done with the absolutely highest level of environmental precaution, which is not less strict on the territory of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Greece,” the executive was cited as saying. New archaeological discoveries could still delay TAP completion, he noted. For Italy, SCG supplies are earmarked at 8+bcm/year, Baylarbayov’s added. Is TurkStream a competitor?
Asked if SCG was in competition with Russia’s TurkStream, he said the answer was always NO. “Our volumes, contracted to Greece, Bulgaria and Italy for 25 years, will start arriving to Italy as soon as TAP is ready. This cannot be changed. Whether there will be Russian, Libyan, Algerian or any other gas, it doesn’t matter, because we secured our own place”.
9.1.2 Transport sector news
Georgia’s economy minister Natia Turnava, attending the Belarus-Georgia Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation in Minsk, announced that Tbilisi has offered the Belarusian government the opportunity to implement joint projects in Georgian ports and free economic zones.
Officials of Belarus, a landlocked country with no access to either the Baltic Sea or Black Sea, confirmed their interest in fostering trade cooperation with Georgia as a regional hub.
Belarus, squeezed between limited sanctions imposed by the European Union given its lack of political freedom and Russia, with which it is struggling to negotiate a new oil and gas deal, has an authoritarian regime that may be seeking alternatives for trade and, possibly, also energy imports. For their part, Georgian authorities have just terminated the contract for the development of their country's flagship economic project, Anaklia deep sea port, for which a new partner is sought, while the ruling Georgian Dream party of Bidzina Ivanishvili is increasingly under fire f rom Western development partners for the lack of political freedom in Georgia.
“We propose to the Belarusian side discussing the construction of joint warehouses, terminals and logistics hubs in our ports, which are of great interest. This will further intensify our trade and transport relations," Turnava said.
Earlier this year, the government of Georgia dropped the contract for Anaklia
42 GEORGIA Country Report March 2020 www.intellinews.com
