Baku, Azerbaijan, April 11
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
Early April 2018, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) started upgrading an 8.5km road segment in the Municipality of Fier (Albania), which is used by more than 14 villages, said a message from TAP AG consortium.
In addition to benefiting the residents of the area, this road will enable safer transport for tourists travelling to the Apollonia Archeology Park and the Seman and Darzeza beaches.
As previously announced, immediately upon concluding the haulage of the bulk stone material and heavy machinery transported to the Compressor Station in Fier, TAP has started works to rehabilitate this road segment.
The assessment of the road condition was undertaken in cooperation with the local authorities, and the rehabilitation costs are covered jointly by TAP and its contractor, Spiecapag.
Since 2015, TAP built approximately 8 km of new road and rehabilitated approximately 33 km of existing road in this region. A series of inner roads in several villages have also been improved. Additionally, TAP continues to implement several social and environmental investment projects in the Fier region.
During the first phase of access roads and bridges rehabilitation in Albania, TAP improved approximately 58 km of road, built 2 new bridges, and upgraded 40 existing bridges. As part of the second phase, TAP is upgrading another 120 km of road and 87% of works have already been completed.
TAP project, worth 4.5 billion euros, is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union (EU). The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.
Connecting with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Greek-Turkish border, TAP will cross Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network.
The project is currently in its construction phase, which started in 2016.
Once built, TAP will offer a direct and cost-effective transportation route opening up the vital Southern Gas Corridor, a 3,500-kilometer long gas value chain stretching from the Caspian Sea to Europe.
TAP shareholders include BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).
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