A total of 149.8 million euros in European funding for the IGB (Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria) project has been utilized as of the beginning of May.
Report informs, citing ICGB, an operator of the IGB, €44.1 million is the amount that remains to be utilized by the ICGB project company until the project is fully completed. A total of 77% of the grant and loan funding have been utilized.
The construction of the gas interconnector between Bulgaria and Greece is worth a total of €240 million: €45 million are provided under the European Energy Program for Recovery (EEPR), €39 million are allocated under the Operational Program "Innovation and Competitiveness" (OPIC) 2014-2020), €109.9 million were provided in the form of a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the remaining funds were secured by the shareholders – the Bulgarian national company BEH and the Greek-Italian IGI Poseidon.
By the beginning of May, ICGB had successfully passed five independent audits and a number of inspections at European, national and regional levels. A total of €23 million was disbursed under the EEPR, €36.8 million under OPIC and a total of €90 million under the EIB loan through three separate tranches. Until the total value of the project is reached, a total of €44.1 million remain to be allocated, which will happen in stages only after the approval of performed activities, delivered equipment and proven quality of work performed on the project.
For its part, ICGB also pays the EPC contractor - the Greek company AVAX, in separate tranches based on performed activities, delivered equipment and achieved targets.
The IGB is designed to transport blue fuel from Shah Deniz 2 to Bulgaria. Through this pipeline, which will join TAP, Bulgaria will import 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year from Azerbaijan. Thus, the state company Bulgargaz EAD has signed a contract with the Shah Deniz consortium to purchase this amount of gas from the Shah Deniz-2 field. Azerbaijan will be able to meet 25-30% of Bulgaria's gas needs. Construction work on the IGB is expected to be completed in the second half of next year.
The 150 kilometres of the pipeline (182-kilometre in length) will pass through Bulgaria. The annual capacity of the pipeline is estimated at 3-5 billion cubic meters.