Turkish parliament approves bill on building Nabucco gas pipeline

The Turkish parliament has approved a bill on construction of the Nabucco gas pipeline, through which natural gas from the Caspian Basin is to be supplied to Europe bypassing Russia, RIA Novosti reported.

Turkey’s minister of energy and natural resources, Taner Yildiz, said that the project would be very profitable for the republic. He added that Ankara intended to reserve for its own use up to 15% of the gas passing through the pipe, which will save Turkey money. The minister also said that Turkey impose duties to offset the cost of transporting the fuel across its territory.

The 3,300-kilometer pipeline will become a continuation of Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, which has been already constructed, and is intended to transport 20-30 billion cubic meters of gas a year. Two-thirds of the pipeline will be built on Turkish territory.

The Nabucco project envisages construction of a gas pipeline from Central Asia and Azerbaijan to Europe via Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria, by passing Russia. Some observers believe the pipeline to be a rival to the Russian South Stream project. The beginning of construction is scheduled for 2010 and its finish for 2013, with the first supplies slated for 2014. The cost of construction is estimated at €7.9 billion.