The TAP consortium has established partnerships with about 150 Greek companies, including DESFA, the gas grid operator, and various companies supplying products and services, Rikard Scoufias, the pipeline’s country manager in Greece, told an energy conference in Athens today.

Scoufias, who delivered a speech at a conference organized by TEE, the Technical Chamber of Greece, titled “Energy Market: Unlocking Greece’s Economic Potential,” noted that construction of the TAP pipeline, to supply mostly Azeri natural gas to central Europe via northern Greece, Albania and Italy, will begin in 2016.

Over 450 meetings were required with local authorities to settle compensation details for owners of property through which the TAP pipeline will cross, Scoufias noted, while adding that the Greek government’s support came as recognition of the consortium’s efforts and procedures.