Azernews.Az

By Jamila Babayeva

Georgia expects more investments from Azerbaijan and Turkey as part of joint regional projects.

The news was announced by Georgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Kakha Kaladze who talked to Trend Agency on May 6.

He made the comments at the opening ceremony of the Tbilisi Summit 2014 with the participation of Presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey.

"We are on the verge of implementing the big Shah Deniz-2 energy project, which provides another opportunity for realizing our country's transit potential," he said.

The final investment decision was made on the second phase of the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz offshore gas and condensate field's development on December 17, 2013. Some 10 billion cubic meters of gas from the field will be supplied to the European market.

The gas which will be produced in the second phase of the field's development is to be exported to Turkey and European markets through the expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline and construction of the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

The contract for developing the Shah Deniz offshore field, which has proven reserves of 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas, was signed on June 4, 1996.

Participants in the Shah Deniz field development are the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) with a share of 16.7 percent, British BP (28.8 percent), Norway's Statoil (15.5 percent), Iran's NICO (10 percent), French Total (10 percent), Russia's Lukoil (10 percent), and Turkish TPAO (9 percent).

Kaladze said the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway communication project is near completion.

"It will give a new impetus to the development of regional economy," he added.

"We expect that the forum promote the integration of the three countries in the economic sphere, which will increase our people's welfare," the minister added.

A new 105-kilometre railroad branch line within the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project is planned to be constructed.

The Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Marabda railway section will also be reconstructed in Georgia, increasing its capacity to 15 million tons of cargo per year.

A station in Akhalkalaki for the transition of trains from the rail tracks in Georgia to Europe is also planned to be built.

The corridor's peak capacity will be 17 million tons of cargo per year. This figure will stand at one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo at the initial stage.

Georgian State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Alexi Petriashvili said the meeting of the leaders of the three countries contributes to strengthening regional security, especially considering the general critical background.

"The Presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Georgia will discuss regional security," he told Trend Agency. "I think that these meetings contribute to strengthening stability in the region, which is very important in this case."