IMPLEMENTATION OF BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN PROJECT WILL BE FROZEN

PanARMENIAN.Net - When the administration of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development preferred to postpone the discussion of the issue on providing the operator of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project with a credit worth $300 mln, it became clear that the project is being frozen. The EBRD will take its final decision only after having once again studied the consequences of the project for the environment, and the public opinion. Meanwhile, Turkish special services do their best to prevent the access of international experts to the regions where the pipeline will pass through. According to the Azeri press, recently the police stopped the representatives of the mission of non-governmental organizations sent to Kars and Ardaghan regions for studying the opinion of the population about the oil pipeline.

We shall remind that the project operator, ''British Petroleum'' company was expecting the EBRD credit last autumn. However, under the pressure of the opponents of the project the board of the bank decided to study once more the commercial perspectives of the project and its consequences for the ecology.

In the end of spring the EBRD authorities will consider the prepared amendments to the report about the ecological and social consequences of the pipeline. Then the report will be discussed publicly during three months. And only after it the board of directors of the bank will start the consideration of the issue about the expediency of providing the credit. It means that this year the project operator will hardly receive any financing. At the same time, it would be senseless to start the construction counting on its own resources.

The EBRD credit has to be the first serious financial injection. As it is known, the ''British Petroleum'' is not going to invest more than $700 mln in the project, while according to the preliminary estimation, construction works will cost 3 bln. It means that the 77% of the necessary sum should be attracted from outside. If EBRD refuses to give the credit, it will become a signal for other potential donors, the participation of which depends from the decision of the EBRD. In such conditions, the perspective of the failure of this doubtful initiative becomes rather realistic.

So, the forecasts that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project would fail, are coming true. In Baku they understand this. ''Those forces that are against the pipeline gained their ends. The campaign started by them a year ago and continuing up to now, bears fruit,'' the ''Echo'' newspaper published in Baku writes.