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Crossing thewhole length of Turkey on
an East-West axis starting from Georgia,
TANAP extends for 1.850 kilometers. The
pipeline will pass through 20 provinces
before reaching Greece, and is built in 4
sections. Tekfen Construction is respon-
sible for building Lot 3, which is 513 km
long. The 56” pipeline passes through 6
provinces, 21 towns, and 146 villages.
The project includes 814 road passes, 548
river passes, and 2 horizontal-drilling riv-
er passes; 6.6 million cubic meters of soil
will be excavated. Work along the route
of the pipeline will be conducted within a
corridor 36 m wide.
TANAP is a giant project in every
sense of the word, and when one consid-
ers the length of the route and the extent
of the work, it is obvious that it has the
potential to disrupt the social and ecolog-
ical balance of the areas it passes through.
It is for this reason that environmental
dimensions and impacts regarding the
project work have been evaluated exten-
sively at the planning stage and a highly
detailed Environmental Impact Assess-
ment (EIA) report has been prepared.
Global best practices in pipeline construc-
tion were taken as the basis for this work
and sensitive environmental criteria were
determined through painstaking and
extensive work along the route regard-
ing ecology, archaeology, soil, and water
sources. During this work, 9 new insect
species, 1 plant species, and 106 archaeo-
logical sites were discovered.
Special measures were taken while the
route was determined so that vulnerable
areas and natural resources would not be
adversely affected, as a result of which en-
vironmental impact was either forestalled
or appropriately reduced. Effective envi-
ronmental and social management plans
and procedures were created to minimize
the negative impact of the project during
construction and operation.
In addition, an effective and sustain-
able public relations management pro-
gram was drafted to avoid possible ad-
verse effects the project might directly
or indirectly have on local people and to
create new jobs in the areas the pipeline
passes through. The basis of TANAP’s so-
cial policy is “making the necessary effort
to form an open dialogue and good rela-
tions with the people.”
TEKFEN CONSTRUCTION AND THE
ENVIRONMENT
Along the basic principles cited above,
Tekfen Construction is making a serious
effort to minimize the negative environ-
mental impact of the pipeline project it
has contracted. The company takes spe-
cial measures to offer the highest level
of protection to the fertile layer of soil,
the endemic species, wildlife, and water
sources in the areas the pipeline passes
through, engaging in close collaboration
with local authorities and NGOs. Tekfen
Construction aims to leave these con-
struction sites, where it regards itself as a
temporary guest, and return home leaving
no negative traces, only good impressions.
We are merely “guests” here
As a pipeline the company has undertaken to built in Turkey after a long hiatus, the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) is a special
project for Tekfen Construction. Another factor that makes TANAP so special is that ecological and social balances are to be fully
protected during the construction of the pipeline. Once the pipeline is completed, Tekfen Construction aims to restore site conditions
prior to the project in terms of nature and the people of the area.