Appeals Threaten to Delay Greek-Bulgarian Pipeline

ICGB, the project company tasked with completing the construction of the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnector, told BIRN that the firm  hopes the project will soon be back on track after two procurement procedures for the selection of an engineer-consultant and pipes delivery, were  stopped due to appeals.

"We have grounds to claim that important state interest are at stake that allow for the continuation of the procedures, despite the appeals," ICGB said in a statement.

The complaints that Bulgaria's Competition Protection Commission, CPC, received in January may bring to a halt the construction  of this important energy project, which is designed to lessen the region's dependence on Russian gas.

The reason are complaints from companies with little known experience in gas pipeline construction, including a winery and a real estate  firm.

The halt to the tenders threatens to delay construction on the Bulgarian side of the pipeline beyond the deadline set by the government in Sofia.

Boyko Borissov's government hoped construction of the pipeline would begin by June 28, at the end of the Bulgaria's six-month presidency of the Council of the EU.

Possible postponement of the work will prolong the region's energy dependency on the Russia's state company, Gazprom.

ICGB told BIRN that the time limit for the CPC to announce its decision is short, so the company does not expect critical postponement of the construction process.

"Of course, if this type of appeal continues with our next public tenders, we risk compromising the timeline of the project and Bulgaria's national interest", ICGB said.

"The IGB [Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria] is a key energy diversification project, which is a...