ECONOMY
LOCALS ARE LARGEST GROUP EXPECTED AT BTC PIPELINE MEETINGS
The meetings, which run from late August to mid-September, are being organised on behalf of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Both are considering whether to lend money to the BTC pipeline project which will run 1,760 km and transport oil from the Caspian Sea near the Azerbaijan coast, through Georgia to a terminal on the Turkish Mediterranean coast of Ceyhan.
The meetings are open to the general public who have been invited via press announcements and advertisements in the local media. Journalists are invited to attend as observers. Translation will be provided for all workshops.
The meeting facilities can accommodate up to 200 people each. These stakeholder gatherings will provide valuable comments from communities affected by the BTC pipeline and are intended to build on and complement the considerable public consultation already undertaken by the project sponsors. The meetings offer the public an opportunity to express views on the potential financing of BTC and its related Caspian oil field development, the Azeri, Chirag and deepwater Gunashli project. The EBRD is also considering financing the Shah Deniz and South Caucasus Pipeline projects and will answer questions on these projects as well.