Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 19 / Trend A.Badalova /
The consortium of Nabucco West sees Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) as a reliable partner and is not concerned about its shareholder position in the project, Sofia News Agency (novinite.com) reported with the reference to Managing Director of the Nabucco Gas Pipeline GmbH Reinhard Mitschek.
In an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) Mitschek said that the project is progressing and a large number of activities are underway at the moment, including an environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure. According to Mitschek, the project has already reached an advanced stage in Bulgaria.
"We have analyzed key spots and routes. The same was done in Romania, Hungary, Austria, and Turkey. I am convinced that we shall get all certificates in Bulgaria too," Mitschek said.
He added that the preparedness to start construction works will depend on the speed of obtaining EIA approvals, on detailed zoning in Bulgaria, on land expropriations, etc.
"We want to prepare the project carefully so as to avoid any obstacles when construction starts," Mitschek said.
Comparing Nabucco West with the Russian-backed South Stream pipeline, Mitschek said that the ideas behind these two projects totally differ. Nabucco West, according to Mitschek, offers a completely new route - an alternative route with alternative gas and he expressed hope that market players will find these offers very attractive.
"This is not a race for time, but a race to offer better terms and more attractive business opportunities to the customers on the market. This is why I am convinced that Nabucco West will succeed," Mitschek said.
Last week Russia's Gazprom and Bulgaria signed final investment decision on South Stream project.
Earlier Gazprom declared that the construction of the South Stream pipeline will begin on December 7.
The South Stream project includes the construction of a gas pipeline across the Black Sea to the South and Central European countries. It is planned that the gas pipeline will be constructed in 2015. The design capacity of the "South Stream" is up to 63 billion cubic meters of gas per year, the estimated cost of the project is 8.6 billion euro.
Nabucco West is a short-cut version of Nabucco project, which envisages construction of the pipeline from the Turkish-Bulgarian border to Austria. The project's current shareholders are Bulgarian Energy Holding, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas, Austrian OMV, German RWE and Hungary's FGSZ, and each of them holds a 16.67-percent share.