On Oct. 18, the board of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) should approve a $500 million financing package for Azerbaijan's Southern Gas Corridor Inc. to be used for the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project, the largest part of the Southern Gas Corridor.

An EBRD statement pointed out that the World Bank approved $800 million in financing and the Asian Development Bank approved $600 million in financing for TANAP, which will cost $8.6 billion.

Also, the statement indicates the European Investment Bank is considering providing financing for TANAP, emphasizing that the project is important for Turkey and Europe in terms of energy security and resource diversity.

TANAP, a large part of the Southern Gas Corridor, will hire more than 9,000 casual employees during construction, and nearly 300 employees will be permanently hired.

The $500 million financing package the EBRD is considering for the Southern Gas Corridor Inc., which has a 58 percent stake in the project, to be used in the TANAP project will be discussed at a board meeting on Oct. 18. Total investment of this company, the majority of which belongs to the Azerbaijani government, in TANAP will be $5 billion.

The Azerbaijani government owns 51 percent of Southern Gas Corridor, while national oil company SOCAR TANAP, which owns 49 percent, would have 16 billion cubic meters of capacity in the first stage and carry 6 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey and 10 billion cubic meters to Europe.

The plan is to start delivering natural gas to Turkey after the first half of 2018 and start delivery to Europe between 2019 and 2020, depending on availability of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to which TANAP will be connected.

Depending on need, TANAP's capacity can be increased to 31 billion cubic meters.

The Southern Gas Corridor owns 58 percent of TANAP shares, Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) owns 30 percent and BP owns 12 percent.