Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank approves $600 mln loan for Azerbaijan-Turkey gas pipeline

The China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a $600 million loan to finance a natural gas pipeline from Azerbaijan through Turkey, it said Dec. 21, taking its total loans in its inaugural year to $1.73 billion.

Once completed, the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP) will transport natural gas from fields in Azerbaijan into Turkey and then markets in Southern Europe, AIIB said in a statement.

The latest loan was granted to Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), an Azerbaijani state-owned company, to build the 1,850-kilometre pipeline as part of a project that also includes developing the Shah Deniz 2 gas field in the Caspian nation, AIIB said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the bank two years ago and it began operations in January, with 57 founding member countries and $100 billion in committed capital, which it plans to invest in projects across the region. 

Meanwhile, the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors also approved a $400 million loan for Turkey and a $400 million loan for Azerbaijan for the TANAP Project on Dec. 20.