TIRANA (Albania), February 13 (SeeNews) – The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) consortium said over 80% of the pipes on the route of the gas pipeline project in Albania and Greece have been welded.
Over 615 km out of 765 km of pipes are now welded, the consortium said in a Twitter post late on Monday.
“TAP pipes are welded above ground. All welds are subject to automatic testing, to ensure they meet national and international standards,” the company said.
The consortium said last week that it has lowered into the ground over 65% of the pipes on the planned route in Albania and Greece.
TAP will stretch from Greece's border with Turkey, via Albania and the Adriatic Sea, to reach Italy's coast. It is part of the Southern Gas Corridor concept which also comprises the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP), which crosses Azerbaijan and Georgia, and the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP).
The total investment of the consortium in Albania will amount to 400 million euro ($472 million) in each of 2017 and 2018, Albanian media quoted former TAP Albania country manager, Shkelqim Bozgo, as saying last year.
The consortium plans to start full-scale operation of the pipeline in 2020.
TAP shareholders are BP, Azerbaijan’s state company Socar and Italy’s Snam with 20% each, Belgium’s Fluxys with 19%, Spain’s Enagas with 16% and Swiss-based Axpo with 5%.
($ = 0.81459 euro)