March 20 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian state-owned gas transmission operator Bulgartransgaz said on Wednesday that it has decided to launch a tender for expanding infrastructure as part of an initiative to build a gas corridor linking Greece and northern Europe.
In 2016, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary reached an agreement to develop the required infrastructure for the so-called Vertical Gas Corridor, enabling bidirectional gas transmission among the participating countries. Ukraine, Moldova and Slovakia joined the initiative earlier this year.
Bulgartransgaz aims to increase the transmission capacity from Greece to Bulgaria at the Kulata-Sidirokastro interconnection point and from Bulgaria to Romania at the Negru Voda-Kardam interconnection point, the company said in a statement.
The first tender in the project, worth an estimated 586.7 million levs ($325.6 million/300 million euro), involves spatial planning, investment design and delivery of necessary materials and equipment, along with construction and commissioning of new sites for infrastructure expansion at the designated interconnection points. It is divided into three lots.
In November, Bulgartransgaz said it would submit alongside its peers from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary individual project proposals for capacity expansion of the Vertical Gas Corridor for public discussion.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)