Greek gas grid operator DESFA is set to announce a tender offering an EPC contract for a natural gas pipeline linking Greece and North Macedonia within the next few days, no later than the end of this month, energypress sources have informed.

DESFA aims to complete the tender by the end of September so that it may reach a final investment decision before the year is out, the sources noted.

In addition, the operator plans for work on the project to begin mid-way through next year and be completed in the second half of 2025, the sources added.

Corinth Pipeworks has been appointed provisional contractor for the project’s pipes. A tender for their procurement was held in May.

The gas pipeline will cover a total distance of 125 kilometers. Its Greek segment will stretch 57 kilometers, beginning from Nea Mesimvria in the country’s north, while the North Macedonian segment’s 68 kilometers will reach Negotino.

DESFA has also taken on the project management role for the pipeline’s North Macedonian segment, after emerging victorious from a tender staged by the neighboring country’s state-run NOMA Gas company.