BTC Losing Its Appeal»

The BTC pipeline, which used to be called "the project of the century", seems to have lost its appeal - it appears the new Georgian authorities do not consider it an important project capable of bringing high economic benefits. President Saakashvili was the first to make a statement along these lines after which a series of events followed: an elegant office of the corporation heading the project (GIOC) in the centre of Tbilisi was transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the corporation was moved to the outskirts of the city.

In addition, GIOC President Gia Chanturia has been away from the public scene since February, while most of the corporation's employees have been on unpaid leave.

Newspaper articles saying Georgia has lost its original interest in the pipeline project are reported to have appeared in the Azeri press.

On the other hand, according to GIOC President Gia Chanturia, "there are no problems regarding the project. Construction work will proceed as planned and the pipeline will be completed next year".