Azerbaijan, Baku, June 5 /Trend, A.Badalova/
The Nabucco consortium, designed to transport gas from the Caspian region and the Middle East to the EU, expects all the necessary works to receive funding to be implemented in 2010 or in early 2011.
Negotiations with potential lenders, which were launched in October last year, are continuing very successfully, an official representative of the Nabucco project, Christian Dolezal, told Trend.
"We also have various statements by the EBRD, the EIB that they will make a significant contribution to the pipeline project," said Dolezal.
The cost of the Nabucco project is 7.9 billion euros. 30 percent of total project cost will be invested by the shareholders of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International on the basis of participation share, and the remaining 70 percent will be paid by loans from international financial institutions and export credit agencies.
Dolezal said the shareholders must make a final investment decision, which is scheduled for the end of the year, in order to conclude financial agreements with the lenders.
Construction of the pipeline is scheduled for 2011 and first deliveries are expected to be realized in 2014. Maximum capacity of the pipeline will total 31 billion cu.m per year. The project participants are the Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE.
According to Dolezal, also there are plans to begin the process of open season in 2010, which envisages to put on sale the capacity of Nabucco pipeline. He did not describe exact start date.
In April, the Nabucco consortium announced a pre-qualification tender for supply of durable goods (pipes, valves) for the construction of gas pipeline. The total cost of the tender package was 3.5 billion euros.
Dolezal said many companies displayed an interest to participate in the tender. Currently, tender proposals are being assessed, he said.