Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The volume of investment of Azerbaijan's energy giant SOCAR in Turkey's economy will reach $5 billion by late 2014, Executive Director of the SOCAR Energy Turkey Kenan Yavuz said on June 3.

"To date, some $3.5 billion has been invested in the projects in Turkey and this figure will reach nearly $5 billion by late 2014," Yavuz told journalists.

He also noted the investment made in the privatization and other fields, as well as those made as part of Azerbaijan's participation in the Petkim Petrochemical Complex, stood at $2.5 billion, and around $900 million was spent on the implementation of the project for construction of Star refinery in Izmir, Turkey, which is planned to be commissioned in late 2017.

Yavuz went on to add that the construction work of a new container port in the territory of the Petkim Petrochemical Complex is also underway. It is planned to become operational in August-September, 2015.

Moreover, a solar power plant will be put into operation in 2015.

Yavuz said the total investment portfolio of Azerbaijan's state oil fund SOFAZ in Turkey, including in the Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) gas pipeline, is $20 billion.

Azerbaijan and Turkey's relations have always been strong due to a common culture and history and the mutual intelligibility of Turkish and Azerbaijani languages.

Turkey was the first country in the world to recognize Azerbaijan's independence in 1991 and has been a staunch supporter of Azerbaijan in its efforts to consolidate its independence, preserve its territorial integrity, and realize its economic potential that arises from the rich natural resources of the Caspian Sea.

The countries share a short 8 kilometer-border, with the Aras River separating Turkey from the Nakhchivan exclave.

Economic projects, jointly implemented by Azerbaijan and Turkey, are bringing these countries together and strengthening their cooperation. These two countries are connected by several important regional projects, including the Baku-Supsa, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipelines, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas line, and TANAP.

Azerbaijan and Turkey's economies and cooperation have reached a high level. SOCAR is one of the world's most well-established oil companies, active in Turkey since May 30, 2008. SOCAR is involved in a number of major investment projects in Turkey, including the construction of TANAP, Star refinery, and others.