Over 2,500 pipelines have been received by the TAP (Trans Adriatic Pipeline) consortium from the Greek ports of Thessaloniki and Kavala, and by rail. A total of 32,000 pipelines will be installed on Greek territory.

The project’s developers have begun preliminary groundwork for the installation of the pipelines, to cross northern Greece as part of the route carrying Azeri natural gas to Europe, via Italy.

The consortium has needed to use the railway network as a result of strike action, lasting many days, at the ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki.

Rikard Scoufias, TAP’s Country Manager for Greece, who is taking part in an Economist conference today, will present a progress report on the preliminary work being carried out and will also discuss the project’s importance for EU energy diversification.

The TAP official is also expected to make reference to two other possible projects, the floating LNG station in Alexandroupoli and the IGB interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria. A decision on the IGB project is expected in September, after gas trading firms have submitted binding offers for pipeline capacity.

TAP’s Greek segment will measure 550 kilometers in length. The total weight of pipelines to be used will amount to 323,000 tons, the equivalent of 44 Eiffel Towers.