Bulgaria and Greece officially started the construction of a natural gas inter-connector between the two countries with the attendance of Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday.
According to the official announcement from the Bulgarian government, Borissov said that the gas interconnection between Bulgaria and Greece will have a key role for the whole region and for Europe.
'The project is of strategic importance not only for our two countries but also for the whole of Europe, including the countries of the Western Balkans,' Borissov said.
The construction of Greece - Bulgaria interconnection gas pipeline aims to ensure diversification for Bulgaria.
The gas connection between Bulgaria and Greece is 182 km long, of which 150 km. are on Bulgarian territory and it will mainly carry Azerbaijan's gas to Bulgaria.
The pipeline's annual technical capacity is 3 to 5 billion cubic meters.
The total cost of the project is €220 million and scheduled to become operational at the end of 2020.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
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