BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 28. Consultations scheduled for March 1 in Baku on the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) project are in question, an informed source told Trend.
"The delegations of Croatia and Albania were counting on a meeting in Baku with other partners in the project, but representatives of Montenegro sent a notification that they would not be able to participate in the Baku meeting, and there is still no response from the delegation of Bosnia and Herzegovina," the source noted.
Earlier, the Croatian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development informed Trend that positive feedback has been received from Montenegro regarding the IAP project movement, there are hopes to continue the project implementation this year, and an important round of negotiations on IAP as a possible branch of the South Gas Corridor may take place in Baku within the framework of the 10th meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council.
"The IAP project is moving very slowly. There is no necessary support for it from the EU. No operating company has been set up. The fate of the project is still in question," the source told Trend.
Meanwhile, the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline, in case of implementation, can be connected to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP, the European part of the SCC) to transport gas to many countries in south-eastern Europe.
The total length of the IAP under the project is planned to be 511 km, of which 96 km will run through the territory of Montenegro.
The total capacity of this pipeline is planned at 5 bcm per year.
Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina were expected to receive 1 bcm each, Montenegro 0.5 bcm, and Croatia and its neighboring countries 2.5 bcm.
Earlier, TAP signed memoranda of understanding and cooperation with the developers of this project, in particular Plinacro (Croatia), BH-Gas (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Geoplin Plinovodi (Slovenia), as well as with the governments of Montenegro and Albania.
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