World Bank in Final Talks on BTC

The World Bank is holding its final discussions on funding the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline and, according to Reuters, initial indications are the Bank?s decision will be positive, as the project meets the environmental and transparency standards.

The World Bank?s final decision is due later this month. The BTC is to carry Azerbaijani?s oil to the western markets via Georgia and Turkey.

“The board will make the final decision and there are some issues we have to look at, but yes, on the whole we think these are good projects which have achieved a lot in terms of transparency,” Rashad Kaldany, head of energy for the bank and its investment arm International Finance Corp. said in an interview with Reuters.

The BTC has been criticized by the by non-government organizations, which say the World Bank should not fund oil production projects because they lead to climate change and fuel corruption in the developing world.

“We must also look at the impact of our actions on poverty reduction. If we do not finance these projects and no one else does, NGOs’ objectives will be met but it won’t reduce poverty and it won’t make the world consume less oil,” Kaldany said.

“So we are looking at projects on a case-by-case basis, with a lot of emphasis on transparency of revenue flows, community development and the environment — that is the ideal solution and not just to say no,” he added.

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