BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.4
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The ICGB AD, a project company responsible for construction of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) hasn’t announced intentions to change the contractor provided that the current EPC contractor is committed to completing the project in a most time efficient and safe manner possible, ICGB’s Executive Officer on the Bulgarian side Teodora Georgieva said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
She noted that currently, ICGB is continuing work on the IGB pipeline with the same EPC contractor, namely the Greek company AVAX.
“All efforts remain focused on meeting the currently set date for commercial activities – July 2022, without any further delays. According to the EPC contract signed with AVAX, they were initially to complete their part of the project by April 2021. Unfortunately, the active construction phase of the interconnector coincided with the global Covid-19 pandemic which imminently had an impact on the initially planned pace of work and even now continues to affect equipment deliveries. Due to the pandemic AVAX received an 8-month extension of the contract, making the deadline for construction activities 31.12.2021 and the date for commercial exploitation – July 2022,” Georgieva explained.
The executive officer pointed out that now the EPC contractor has claimed several reasons for not meeting that timeline – including very significant delays of deliveries of valves and equipment for the gas metering station in Komitini, Greece.
“However, ICGB’s Board of Directors, where both shareholders are equally represented, has decided not to uphold AVAX’s request for another extension. We’re working closely with the contractor on the remediation measures aimed at optimizing the remaining activities through better planning and increasing the site resources. ICGB’s team is actively working on options for optimizing the deadlines for the remaining administrative and certification procedures required for the pipeline. With the assistance of the relevant state institutions in Greece and Bulgaria, this would reduce the period between the handover of the completed site by the Greek contractor and the commissioning of the pipeline, limiting the impact of delays under the EPC contract. It is an ambitious goal but given the importance of the IGB pipeline for enhanced security of natural gas deliveries for the region, I believe we will have the support we need to meet the July 2022 deadline for commissioning,” she said.
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