Trans-Adriatic Pipeline's construction is to begin in 2015

Work for the natural gas interconnection to Bulgaria from Greece will begin no later than 2015, said the Bulgarian Minister of Economy and Energy Dragomir Stoinev.

An agreement to connect the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) with Interconnector Greece- Bulgaria ( ICGB ) was signed in early, to bring Azeri gas to Bulgaria, a country almost entirely dependent on Russian gas imports.

At a meeting with the Energy Minister of Azerbaijan, Natig Aliev, the Bulgarian Minister said that his country is almost to day with the construction program of Bulgaria -Greece interconnection pipeline, with a length of about 170 km, and will begin to look for an investor at the end of April. He acknowledged that the preconstruction phase lasted too long.

At the meeting with the Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan, Stoinev discussed the proposal of Azerbaijan to supply Bulgaria with a billion cubic meters annually. TAP pipeline will transport gas from the Caspian region, across Greece, Albania, the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy and Western Europe. Building the TAP, with a length of 867 km, is set to begin in 2015.