May 22 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's government said on Wednesday that it has approved a draft agreement with Greece for establishing a fixed corporate tax regime that will apply to ICGB - the project company developing the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnection
The fixed tax regime will apply in Bulgaria and Greece for 25 years from the start of the interconnector's commercial operation, the Bulgarian government said in a statement following its weekly meeting.
The proposed intergovernmental agreement also concerns avoiding double taxation and other tax-related issues.
The agreement must be endorsed by the parliaments of Bulgaria and Greece to enter into force.
The construction of the interconnector is expected to begin later on Wednesday, the Bulgarian government said on Tuesday.
The estimated cost of the project is 240 million euro ($267.6 million).
The Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria will connect the Greek gas transmission system in the area of Komotini to the Bulgarian gas transmission system in the area of Stara Zagora.
The planned length of the pipeline is 182 km and the projected capacity will be up to 3 billion cu m per year in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria. Depending on interest from the market and the capacities of the neighbouring gas transmission systems, the capacity of the pipeline can be increased up to 5 billion cu m per year, thus allowing for physical reverse flow from Bulgaria to Greece with the additional installation of a compressor station.
The project is being implemented by the joint venture company ICGB, in which BEH and Greece-registered IGI Poseidon hold equal shares. Greek public gas corporation DEPA and Italian energy group Edison own 50% each of IGI Poseidon.
($ = 0.8968 euro)