Azernews.Az

Turkey has invited Qatar to invest in the construction of a new liquefied gas plant in Turkey, the Hurriyet newspaper quoted Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz as saying on Monday, Trend news agency reported.

Yildiz said that Turkey is interested in engaging the private sector in the construction of the plant, but if the private sector does not show interest in the project, the state will invest in its implementation.

Yildiz said that the plant is planned to be built on the coast of the Gulf of Saros in the northern part of the Aegean Sea.

The plant's capacity is expected to reach up to six billion cubic meters of liquefied gas per year.

Yildiz said earlier that the volume of the liquefied gas market in Turkey hit 3.7 million tons in 2012. This means Turkey ranks second in Europe and 15th in the world for the volume of the liquefied gas market.

According to a report of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK), imports of liquefied gas into Turkey in September 2012 were 291,995 tons compared to 258,570 tons in the same period of 2011.

Consumption of liquefied gas in Turkey's domestic market was 328,913 tons in September compared to 342,291 tons in the same period of 2011.