May 14 (SeeNews) - ICGB, the project company developing the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria, said on Tuesday it has picked Greece's J&P-Avax to buid the gas link for 144.8 million euro ($162.6 million).
"The project company ICGB successfully completed the pubic procurement for design, procurement and construction (EPC) of the gas interconnector of the gas interconnector Greece – Bulgaria. Initial interest in the restricted procedure was expressed by 11 Bulgarian and foreign companies and consortia," the project company said in a statement.
Construction works should be completed in 18 months.
According to ICGB's executive officers, Teodora Georgieva and Konstantinos Karayannakos, the tenders for the construction and the line pipe supply are the most important and final steps for the start of the construction activities for the gas interconnector.
Earlier this week ICGB said it has selected Greece's Corinth Pipeworks Industry to supply line pipes for the project under a one-year term contract.
In April the J&P-Avax submitted the lowest offer in the construction tender followed by a consortium named IGB-2018, comprised by Italy's Bonatti and Bulgarian construction companies GP Group and Glavbolgarstroy International. Another three candidates were overtaken by J&P-Avax in the second stage of the tender procedure - consortium Max Streicher - Terna/ICGB, consortium Spiecapag Trace IGB 2018, and joint venture CPP-AKTOR.
The IGB pipeline, which has a total estimated cost of 220 million euro, will connect the Greek gas transmission system in the area of Komotini to the Bulgarian gas transmission system in the area of Stara Zagora.
The planned length of the pipeline is 182 km and the projected capacity will be up to 3 billion cu m per year in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria.
The construction of the pipeline is expected to start around May 20, Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borissov said last month.
The project is being implemented by the joint venture company ICGB, in which state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and Greece-registered IGI Poseidon hold equal stakes.
($ = 0.89148 euro)