June 21 (SeeNews) - ICGB, the company developing the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria project, said that it has signed a 766,000 levs ($439,000/392,000 euro) contract with a tie-up of three local companies for supervision of the gas link's construction.
The joint venture comprises Ecoengineering, Stroy Control Engineering and Control Engineering, ICGB said in a notice on Thursday.
The contract was signed on May 20, according to the notice.
Three candidates tabled bids in the public procurement procedure for awarding the contract.
The 220 million euro IGB pipeline 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.
ICGB is a 50/50 joint venture of state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and Greece-registered IGI Poseidon. Greek public gas corporation DEPA and Italian energy group Edison own 50% each of IGI Poseidon.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)