Bulgaria, Bulgartransgaz awards GBS 70m-euro contract to Serbia
, SEE Energy NewsThe pipeline will provide Bulgaria with a liquefied gas terminal in Croatia
Following the completion of the interconnector with Greece and gas ties with Serbia, Bulgaria will expand its gas import opportunities
Bulgartransgaz signed an agreement on the design and construction of a gas connection between Bulgaria and Serbia.
The contract was awarded to a consortium that includes Glavbolgarstroy and Glavbolgarstroy International. The offered price is 139 million levs (69.5 million euros) without VAT.
Until just a few months ago, the Canpipe consortium was the favorite to build a gas link between Bulgaria and Serbia. However, his offer of 136.8 million levs (69.9 million euros) was suddenly rejected.
A joint project between Bulgaria and Serbia envisions the construction of a new gas pipeline from the existing Bulgartransgaz facility near Novi Iskar to Nis, further expanding the possibilities for supplying Bulgaria with natural gas through alternative routes and from alternative sources.
According to the plan, the gas pipeline was to be completed in May 2022. But due to complaints about the results of the tender, which took almost a year to resolve, the works will be completed in April 2023 at the earliest.
Funding for the project is provided by the Connecting Europe Facility, which will also support the expansion of the gas storage in Chiren.
The pipeline has a capacity of 1.8 billion cubic meters per year, which is enough to cover about 60% of the country’s consumption. There is also the possibility of reverse flow – the Turkish Stream lacks that, where gas flows only from Bulgaria to Serbia.
The great potential of the connection is the possibility to provide a route for supplying Bulgaria with natural gas from the liquefied gas terminal on Krk in Croatia.
The new gas pipeline starts from the distribution station near Novi Iskar and passes through Bulgaria with a total length of 62 kilometers to Dimitrovgrad and Nis, along a route of additional 88 kilometers. The construction of the gas pipeline on the territory of Serbia started a few months ago, and according to sources from the Serbian government, it should be completed in the fall of 2023.
Source: capital.bg
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