Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.10
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Almost 99 percent of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline’s (TAP) route in Greece and Albania has been graded, Lisa Givert, TAP Head of Communications, told Trend.
“In Greece, as of mid-September, 540 km of our right of way have been cleared, approximately 538 km line pipes strung, over 538 km welded, 513 km back-filled and approximately 439 km are being reinstated,” she said.
As for Albania, Givert noted that approximately 215 km have been cleared and graded along our route, 215 km line pipes strung, 207 km welded and approximately 193 km back-filled. Circa 151 km are being reinstated.
“This means that between Greece and Albania, TAP has now cleared and graded almost 99 percent of its corridor (approximately 756km out of 765km). Additionally, we have welded 97 percent of steel line pipes and around 92% pipes are already in the ground (back-filled),” she added.
TAP worth 4.5 billion euros is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.
The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy’s south.
TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).
TAP’s shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).
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