28 pre-qualification bids collected for TANAP

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Energy Minister Yıldız speaks at yesterday’s press conference. AA photo

The Turkish energy minister said 28 companies, nine of which are local companies, have applied for preliminary qualification for procurement of the pipes to be used for Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP).

“The authorities will begin to review applications for the natural gas pipeline system that will carry Azeri gas through Turkey by Aug. 27,” Energy Minister Taner Yıldız told the press after meeting with his Djiboutian counterpart, Ali Yacoub Mahamoud.

The contracts are expected to be awarded in the third quarter of 2014 and the construction period is expected to start at the end of 2014. The authorities expect the pipeline to come online in 2018, Yıldız said.

In his remarks, the minister also touched on the recent issue regarding fuel prices in Turkey. Hailing the companies’ decision to cut prices, he said he expected further steps to be taken. “I must say that there is still a 0.07-Turkish Lira [7 kuruş] difference [between prices]. They have made up a part of the difference.
I believe that they will make the next moves,” he said.