TIRANA, April 14 – An Albanian-Italian joint venture has been selected for the construction and rehabilitation of access roads and bridges in Albania for the landmark Trans Adriatic Pipeline project bringing Caspian gas to Europe through Albania, Greece and Italy, TAP has announced.
Works, which will be carried out by Albania’s Gener 2 and Italy’s Sicilsaldo are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2015, involving the construction and rehabilitation of over 100 km of road along the pipeline’s route in the Albanian section and 52 bridges in the regions of Korçe, Berat and Fier.
The building of Albanian access roads and bridges is a crucial step in TAP’s preparations for pipeline construction, to begin in 2016, TAP said.
“The announcement is an important step for TAP’s execution phase, as it will allow for pipe-laying to begin in 2016,” said Ian Bradshaw, TAP’s managing director.
“In addition to our community investment programme in Albania, the access roads and bridges will be left behind for the benefit of the local communities for decades to come,” he added.
The pipeline in Albania will be approximately 211 km long, starting at Bilisht Qendër in the Korça region, on the border with Greece. TAP’s landfall in Albania will be located 17 km north-west of Fier, up to 400 metres inland from the shoreline. The offshore section in Albanian territorial waters will be about 37 km.
TAP’s route across the Adriatic Sea will take the pipeline approximately 105 km along the seabed from the Albanian to the Italian coast.
TAP which is expected to bring gas to Europe through Greece, Albania and Italy will generate one of that Albania’s largest FDI projects, with important benefits for a number of industries, including manufacturing, utilities and transport, experts say.
TAP officials say Albania will benefit around 1 billion euros in investments from TAP’s construction in the next three years. The pipeline which is expected to carry the first gas by 2020 will transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II development in Azerbaijan through Greece and Albania to Italy, from which it can be transported farther into Western and Central Europe.
Findings by an Oxford Economics study show that during its four years of construction (2015-18), inclusive of direct, indirect and induced effects, TAP will contribute a total of Euro 370 million to Albanian GDP, create an average of 9,900 jobs per year and generate Euro 90 million for the Albanian treasury.
Albanian 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.
