Activities on the realization of the IGB project are progressing despite the unexpected situation related to the measures against the spread of COVID-19, welding is underway both on the territory of Greece and Bulgaria

Over 70 km of line pipes intended for the construction of the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnector have already been delivered on the territory of the two countries, with active work underway for clearing the route and stringing. The pipe stringing on Bulgarian territory reached 7 km. As of the beginning of May, line pipe welding activities have also been progressing. Currently, 50 manual welding procedures have been completed. Automatic welding is expected to start soon as well. The non-destructive testing of the welded connections has already begun. About 50 km of the land along the route of the IGB project has been cleared, with 35 km on the territory of Bulgaria, and the rest - on the territory of Greece.

On Saturday, the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov visited one of the construction sites of the project near the village Mogila. Together with the Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, he inspected the progress of the construction activities and encouraged the workers.

The IGB project envisages the construction of a gas interconnector that will link the gas transmission systems of Greece and Bulgaria. The total length of the gas pipeline is 182.6 km, and its capacity for gas transmission is 3 billion cubic meters per year with the option to reach 5 billion cubic meters.

The route of the gas pipeline is divided into 7 main lots, the shortest being 9.55 km long and the longest - 71.90 km. 106 km of the route in Bulgaria will be completed with automatic welding, and the remaining 45 km - by manual welding.

Nearly 50% of the required quantities of line pipes for the project have already been produced by the Greek company Corinth Pipeworks, which is responsible for the production and delivery of the line pipes. Deliveries have been distributed in five main milestones, the first two of which have already been successfully completed. Production of the third major batch is underway at the company's plant in Boeotia, Greece. The line pipes are being stored in four warehouses on the territory of Greece and Bulgaria - respectively near the towns of Komotini, Haskovo, Momchilgrad and Dimitrovgrad. Work on the production and delivery of line pipes for the gas interconnector is carried out according to the initial schedule, despite the unforeseen situation related to the spread of the coronavirus.

"We are grateful for the efforts that all teams have made to ensure the IGB project is progressing despite the unusual circumstances the world has faced in recent months. ICGB remains in constant coordination with the main contractors for the project to ensure that the activities related to the construction of the interconnector continue in line with all the necessary safety measures for employees, as we value the lives and health of the people above all”, said the Executive Officers of the project company ICGB Teodora Georgieva and Konstantinos Karagiannakos. The two noted that efforts are being made to reorganize the activities so that the deadlines for the construction of the interconnector are not seriously affected despite the challenges that COVID-19 brings. "Currently, we have no reason to believe there will be serious deviations from the originally set deadline according to the contract for the implementation of IGB," said the Executive Officers.

All foreign workers who enter the territory of Bulgaria are subjected to a mandatory 14-day quarantine. The project company and its partners provide coronavirus testing for each newly arrived employee, and currently there are no registered positive cases. ICGB and the main contractors of the project strictly follow all measures and requirements imposed by the healthcare authorities and continue monitoring the safety of their teams.

For more information:
Diana Zaykova
Action Global Communications Bulgaria
Tel.: +359 2 9803018
Mobile: +359 885 074422