November 3 (SeeNews) - ICGB, the independent transmission operator of the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnection, said it received the fourth and final tranche of the 109.9 million euro ($107.2 million) long-term loan provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the development of the project.
By the end of 2022, the gas link operator plans to request the last payments due under the 45 million euro European Energy Recovery Program (EEPR) grant and the 39 million euro allocated under the EU's Innovation and Competitiveness 2014-2020 operational programme, ICGB said in a statement on Wednesday.
The total value of the interconnection project amounted to 253 million euro, ICGB noted. A part of that was also secured from the project company's equal shareholders, the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and IGI Poseidon, a consortium of Italy's Edison and Greek public gas corporation DEPA.
The agreement with the EIB was signed at the end of 2019, at the time of the start of the gas link's construction. Disbursement of the tranches occurs once the company is audited for the quality of performed activities and completed equipment deliveries. ICGB has undergone six independent audits since 2019.
The gas link, which began operation on October 1, connects the Greek gas transmission system in the area of Komotini to Bulgaria's national gas grid in the area of Stara Zagora. The pipeline has helped increase gas deliveries from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria as well as the flow of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Greek import terminal at Revithoussa.
($ = 1.02557 euro)