TIRANA, Aug. 10 – The Trans Adriatic Pipeline consortium has already completed half of its Albania onshore route works and is on track to start its offshore section across the Adriatic to Italy next year.
Shkelqim Bozgo, the TAP country manager for Albania, says the pipeline scheduled to bring Caspian gas to Europe is already in its peak construction stage and is expected to inject about Euro 800 million in foreign direct investment in the next couple of years.
“TAP’s total value, starting from 2016, but even earlier, until the completion of operations is at about Euro 1.5 billion. Of course, 2017 and 2018 are the project’s most intensive years and the investment level in each of these years will be at about Euro 400 million,” Bozgo has told a national Albanian TV.
The amount of TAP’s annual investment represents about 4 percent of Albania’s GDP and 40 percent of total annual FDI inflows.
“The offshore section starts in 2018 and lasts for several months. It’s the easiest part because of technological development. The project is expected to be tested and commissioned in 2019,” Bozgo adds.
TAP which is expected to bring gas to Europe through Greece, Albania and Italy is generating one of the country’s largest foreign direct projects, with important benefits for a number of industries, including manufacturing, utilities and transport.
Experts have described TAP as an opportunity that would benefit Albania both economically and politically, making the country an important hub of the international gas pipeline for the Western Balkans.
The pipeline in Albania will be approximately 211 km long, starting at the Korça region, southeastern Albania on the border with Greece.
About 13,000 pipes of mostly 18 metres are being used for the Albanian section of TAP, which also includes a 37 km offshore section in the Albanian part of the Adriatic linking it to southern Italy.
With construction works already in their peak stage, TAP’s first gas deliveries to Europe are targeted by early 2020.
