On the 21st of January 2013
TAP officially submitted its Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)
for the Albanian section of the proposed natural gas pipeline to the National
Licensing Centre in Albania.
Tirana, Albania. TAP
with a group of Albanian and international experts developed the comprehensive
ESIA report in accordance with the Albanian law and in compliance with the
Environmental and Social Policy of the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD).
The objective of the ESIA is
to assess potential impacts of the pipeline project on the environment,
cultural heritage and socio-economic development and to propose measures in
order to avoid, reduce or mitigate negative impacts.
The TAP pipeline will
transport gas from Caspian region via Greece and Albania and across the
Adriatic Sea to southern Italy and further to Western Europe. Albanian section
of the TAP pipeline will start at Bilisht Qendër in Korc
̧
a region at the Albanian-Greek
border. The landfall for the onshore part of the Albanian section will be
located in the coastal area north of Fier. The total length of the TAP’s
onshore section in Albania will be about 209 km and 60 km offshore in the
Albanian section of the Adriatic Sea.
TAP is currently disclosing
the full ESIA document to all affected communities along the pipeline route to
make sure that their views and concerns are incorporated in the pipeline
project development.
TAP has already disclosed
the non-technical summary and relevant information on ESIA report to the
residents of 83 communities in Korça, Skrapar, Berat, and Fier regions and to
Albanian NGOs. Local governments were also involved in the consultation process
- TAP discussed the report with 38 councils of the affected communes and they
expressed support for the project.
In addition, local
authorities in coordination with the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Water
Administration will organize a number public hearings on TAP’s ESIA by the end
of February. The exact dates of these regional meetings will be announced in
the local media.
Albert Haak, TAP’s Country
Office Director for Albania, said: “The submission of the ESIA to the
government of Albania is a great achievement for TAP. Several years of hard
work on the pipeline route refinement and analysis resulted in this
comprehensive and detailed ESIA report of about 4000 pages. We are now making
every effort to present the it to the local communities and request their
opinion. So far, the feedback has been very constructive and the project
enjoys wide support.”
Once TAP’s ESIA application has been disclosed and discussed, TAP expects to
receive approval of the ESIA and respective environmental permit from the
Albanian government in the next few months.