Alessandro Marchetti: TAP will ensure high advantages for each economy

Baku. 1 November. REPORT.AZ/ The Trans-Adriatic pipeline is a strategic infrastructure for the Italian economy. It is important for competition in energy sector and in terms of national security, editor of the economic column at Italy's first news channel Rai News 24 Alessandro Marchetti told Report.

He believes that firstly TAP will diversify the sources of supply by increasing the competition between various suppliers and lowering the cost of energy for families and firms.

"Consumers and businesses in Italy pay 10% more for gas than the countries of Northern Europe. Furthermore, TAP is capable of ensuring more security for Italy in terms of gas supplies from foreign countries. Today Italy depends too much on Russia, which is the main gas supplier (about 50 percent of import)," Marchetti said.

Alessandro Marchetti, Economic Editor at Italy's Rai News 24 news channel

"TAP is able to ensure more security to Italy for gas provisions from foreign countries."

Alessandro Marçetti

Alessandro Marchetti, Economic Editor at Italy's Rai News 24 news channel

The expert noted that the Italian segment of the pipeline is the final stage of the TAP project, which is a part of the Southern gas corridor. This major project involves seven countries, including Azerbaijan. The Italian segment of TAP is the last one.

"With the completion of works on the Italian segment in 2020, TAP will be able to supply nearly 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe per year, with high advantages for each economy," Marchetti said.

Notably, the TAP pipeline, which is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor project, is initially expected to supply 10 bn cubic meters of gas produced as part of Shahdeniz-2 project to Europe annually. In the Kipoi area at the Turkish-Greek border the pipeline will be connected to the Trans-Anatolian pipeline (TANAP) and extend via Greece, Albania and Adriatic sea shelf to Southern Italy.

The first Azerbaijani gas will reach Europe in 2020.