Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.9
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
A loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) on financing the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) is expected to be signed in by late January, Teodora Georgieva, Executive Officer of ICGB AD (project company), told Trend.
“By the end of January 2019 we expect to conclude a loan financing agreement with EIB in the amount of 110 million euros secured by a state guarantee,” she said.
Further, speaking about 2018 results, Georgieva noted that it was a successful year for the project.
“Although we faced some challenges and delays in 2018, it was a very successful year and we managed to fulfill some crucial milestones for the realization of the project namely, to obtain exemption decision and state aid clearance by the European Commission and to be accepted as an eligible beneficiary for grant financing in the amount of up to 39 million euros under the Operational Program Innovation and Competitiveness (OPIC),” noted the executive officer.
She went on to add that as a result of the amendment of the program and the inclusion of the IGB project, on December 21, 2018 ICGB AD officially signed a contract with the Managing Authority in Bulgaria (responsible for OPIC).
“The conclusion of the contract gives the project company the right to start utilizing the grant financing in accordance with the rules of the Operational Program,” added Georgieva.
IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to TAP via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets.
The initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas.
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