TAP AG Country Manager for Greece: Land cover restored at 90 % of TAP`s Greece route

Baku, January 29, AZERTAC Under the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), land cover at more than 90% of Greece route have been completely restored, said TAP AG Country Manager for Greece, Katerina Papalexandri, in her speech at the Athens Energy Forum 2019. "I can say with pride that we have completed the route clearance in Greece and the 500-kilometer area has been completely restored," Katerina Papalexandri stated. According to the operator, as of end of 2018, an area of more than 550-kilometer was completely cleared in Greece and 547 km of pipelines have been welded in this country. The area was cleaned and rated at the 215-kilometer section of the pipeline, which crosses Albania as well. 214 km of pipes were welded and 177 km of land was completely restored. Overall, around 97 percent of pipes have been lowered into the ground in Greece and Albania. In Italy, preparations for the construction of the micro-tunnel are underway. At the moment, works are underway at pipeline`s receiving terminal, the micro-tunnel site and the exit point at sea. Approximately 82,4 percent of the TAP project, including engineering, procurement and construction, was implemented. TAP worth 4.5 billion euros is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan`s Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries. The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy’s south. TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers). TAP`s shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).