SOFIA, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The construction of the gas interconnector between Bulgaria and Greece is expected to begin by the end of June this year, Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said here on Friday.
It was "completely realistic" to turn the first sod on this project at the end of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in June, Petkova told reporters.
The 182-km-long pipeline, which would provide a direct link between the national natural gas systems of Greece and Bulgaria, was extremely important not only for her country, Petkova said.
The project was important for the whole southeastern Europe, and would greatly contribute to the diversification of the sources and routes for the supply of natural gas in the region, the security of supply and, of course, competitive prices, Petkova said.
The expected launch date of the 240 million euros (295 million U.S. dollars) interconnector was 2020, Teodora Georgieva, executive officer at the joint venture project company ICGB AD, added.
The realization of this project would change the natural gas market because its capacity would be three billion cubic meters per year, just as much as the consumption of Bulgaria, Georgieva said.
