Green light from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for a loan of up to half a billion euros for the Trans Adriatic pipeline project, the infrastructure will transport gas from the Shah Deniz 2 field in Azerbaijan to Italy. The construction of the Tap, which has an estimated total cost of 4,5 billion, is entrusted to a consortium which also includes the Italian Snam with a 20% share.
The EBRD loan joins the one and a half billion loan granted by the European Investment Bank (EIB), as well as the 14 million loan linked to the EU Connecting Europe Facility programme. Other resources could come from the export credit agencies of Italy, Germany and France.
The financial support for TAP from the EIB and EBRD is linked to the international importance of the infrastructure. The gas pipeline allows Italy to diversify its supply sources, to increase supply with positive effects on the price of gas and to become a gas hub in Europe.
