Construction of the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB Pipeline) is
expected to begin in 2015, an official of the state-owned Bulgarian Energy
Holding (BEH) said on Wednesday.
"By the end of the year we expect [to
have obtained] construction permission, and construction will be started next
year,” Rosen Simitchiev, expert at BEH's project management directorate, said
during the First Energy and Geopolitics Roundtable, organised by Greek-based
Institute of Energy for South East Europe (IENE) in Sofia.
The
182-kilometre IGB Pipeline, which will start at the northeastern Greek city of
Komotini and end at Stara Zagora, in southern Bulgaria, will carry 3.0 billion
cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas annually in its initial stage and will have a
maximum capacity of 5.0 bcm per year. It will be eventually connected to the
Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), carrying natural gas from the Caspian Sea to
Europe through Greece. The pipeline, which is expected to become operational in
2016, is estimated to cost 220 million euro ($304 million).