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Greece speeds up Bourgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline procedures

Mon, Jul 27 2009 13:01 CET byNick Iliev 1207 Views
Greece speeds up Bourgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline procedures

The Greek ministry of development is ready with legislation to speed up construction of the Bourgas – Alexandoupolis pipeline, according to several Greek media.

The bill is set to be introduced in parliament at any time and, according to the ministry, "the aim is to facilitate and fasten the procedures enabling the installation of the pipeline by Trans Balkan Pipeline," Bulgaria's Dnevnik daily said.

Greek minister of development Kostas Hadzidakis said that "Greece will uphold its obligations on the construction of the pipeline while adhering to all environmental standards".

Meanwhile, the entire project is controlled by the Russian Transneft, who has the largest stake in the project with 51 per cent, while Bulgaria and Greece each have 24.5 per cent.

Until recently, the state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) held half of the Bulgarian share, through its subsidiary Bulgargaz, but recently sold it to state-owned construction firm Tehnoexportstroi.

"The price of the deal was three million leva, which accounts to the total expenditures sustained by Bulgargaz for the development of the project to date," BEH chief executive Galina Tosheva has said.

There are several controversies regarding the project. The new government headed by Prime Minister Boiko Borissov said that the project is economically unattainable and thus surplus of requirements. Moreover, wide swathes of the population of municipalities where the projected pipeline is scheduled to transit are also adamantly against the project.

Furthermore, although the  Bourgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline is described as one of the shortest pipelines, to be constructed over plain terrain and therefore, one of the cheapest and cost-effective, mounting criticism of the  project has included environmental concerns.

A potential oil spill in the Aegean would be devastating for Greece's tourism industry, as would it be for Bulgaria should the spill occur in the Black Sea.

Residents of Bourgas and Sozopol in Bulgaria voted against in the pipeline in local referendums in the spring of 2008.

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