The procedure for issuing additional 35 million euros for construction of Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) under the “Competitiveness and Innovation” program is at its final stage, said Bulgaria’s Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova.
She made the remarks during a meeting with Greek Minister of Energy and Environment Giorgos Stathakis, said the message on the website of Bulgarian Energy Ministry.
Minister Stathakis, for his part said that 12 million euros is to be allocated for the project by Greek structural funds.
During the meeting, it was noted that implementation of the IGB project, as well as the creation of a liquefied natural gas terminal near Alexandroupolis will establish a competitive environment which will have a positive impact on natural gas prices in the region.
The process of implementation of IGB project has advanced significantly over the past two years, said the ministers, adding that currently, representatives of both countries in the shareholding company ICGB have an important task to prepare documents for launching public procurement to select a constructor in autumn.
IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets.
The initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas. The project’s cost is estimated at around 240 million euros.
