ICGB’s Executive Officer Teodora Georgieva presented the progress on the project for gas interconnector with Greece to the members of the Fifth Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council, which was held in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku. Georgieva was part of the Bulgarian delegation led by the Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova. The meeting was held between high-level officials from the member countries of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council, representatives of the countries participating as shareholders in the energy projects and delegates from international financial institutions. 

The realization of the Southern Gas Corridor and the energy connectivity in the region of Southeastern Europe were discussed during the conference. The participants were presented with the latest updates on the key projects for the region – the gas interconnector with Greece (IGB), Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP).

“The three projects have immense synergy and the realization of the possibility for IGB to be connected with TAP and TANAP will lead to establishing a new energy route that will increase the energy security and the diversification of energy suppliesfor the whole region”, announced ICGB’s Executive Officer for Bulgaria Teodora Georgieva. She presented the delegates with the latest updates on the successful realization of the IGB project, focusing on the recently acquired Installation Permit on the territory of the Hellenic Republic. According to Georgieva, all major public procurements are ongoing and in about a month the project company will announce the contractor for one of them – for selection of Owner’s Engineer.

“In 2018 ICGB managed to negotiate a direct financial contribution of €39 million thanks to the efforts of the Bulgarian Government and the European Commission (EC). This contribution helped us secure the project’s financial frame. IGB also relies on a long-term loan of €110 million granted by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to BEH (and subsequently passed-on to ICGB AD), secured by a State Guarantee in the same amount and on a contribution of €45 million from the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR), which is centrally managed by the European Commission”, Georgieva noted.

The realization of the project is of great importance for the region as it will contribute to improving the security of energy deliveries for Bulgaria, which is currently depending on only one exclusive source. IGB is among the top priority projects of the CESEC High Level Working Group. It is also part of the vertical gas corridor connecting the national gas transmission networks of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania.

For more information:
Vladislava Tsekova
ICGB AD
Tel.: +359 2 926 38 62
Mobile: + 359 88 653 99 09

Date 20/02/2019