March 12 (SeeNews) - ICGB, the project company developing the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria, said it has extended the deadline for submission of offers in its 60 million euro ($70.4 million) tender for supply of line pipes for the project.
The new deadline is March 15, ICGB said in a statement on Friday.
The tender was initially launched in December last year but was later suspended following a complaint filed with the country's competition regulator on January 31.
The IGB pipeline will connect the Greek gas transmission system in the area of Komotini to the Bulgarian gas transmission system in the area of Stara Zagora.
The planned length of the pipeline is 182 km and the projected capacity will be up to 3 billion cu m per year in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria. Depending on interest from the market and the capacities of the neighbouring gas transmission systems, the capacity of the pipeline can be increased up to 5 billion cu m per year, thus allowing for physical reverse flow from Bulgaria to Greece with the additional installation of a compressor station.
The gas link is estimated to cost 220 million euro. The project company has secured a sovereign guarantee of 110 million euro under the annual state budget act, which could ensure loan financing under preferable conditions.
The project is being implemented by the joint venture company ICGB, in which state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and Greece-registered IGI Poseidon hold equal shares. Greek public gas corporation DEPA and Italian energy group Edison own 50% each of IGI Poseidon.
($= 0.8519 euro)