Caspian Energy Hub to be put thro? despite crisis

ASTANA March 12. KAZINFORM /Aigul Tulekbayeva/ – At the meeting with Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev foreign investors of the Caspian Energy Hub confirmed their intentions to start carrying through this project despite the global economic crisis, Kazinform informs.

As earlier reported, the Caspian Energy Hub is an economic development project which will become an energy enterprise providing full range of services and answering the commercial, technical and personnel needs of regional oil-and-gas industry. «We have almost finished planning, and despite the global crisis which has affected everyone, we are ready to start carrying through the project», - PFC Energy Chairman Vahan Zanoyan announced today at the meeting with President Nazarbayev. According to him, three world universities will be involved in creation of the technology university which is a part of the project. «We have examined 23 control rooms of oil-and-gas companies operating in Kazakhstan, and we are convinced of the impact of this project on the country?s economy», he said. During the briefing after his meeting with Nursultan Nazarbayev Vahan Zanoyan stated that President of Kazakhstan approved the decision to implement this project. The foreign delegates who had a meeting with President Nazarbayev were basically from the Middle East countries. «They are determined to make sound investments into the project», - said Zanoyan. According to him, the first stage investments will be around USD 400 million. The first stage will take approximately 18 months. The overall amount of the investments will be about USD 15 billion. «It may take about 7 or 8 years to complete the project», he added. Akim of Mangystau Oblast Krymbek Kusherbayev informed that the project feasibility study would be accomplished in April. The parties to the Caspian Energy Hub project are international consulting company PFC Energy, Gulf Finance House Investment Company, the Fund of National Welfare Samruk-Kazyna and Mangystau Investment Company JSC.