7 Candidates Vie to Build Bulgarian South Stream Gas Pipeline Stretch

On October 31, 2013 the ceremony of welding the first joint of South Stream's Bulgarian section took place near the Rasovo compressor station site. Photo by BGNES

Seven consortia have expressed interest in the design and construction of the Bulgarian section of the South Stream gas pipeline.

According to a publication of Capital Daily on Monday, based on sources close to the matter, one candidate withdrew due to the lack of time.

The newspaper informs that the consortia bring together Russian, German, Austrian and Turkish companies.

Only one concrete name is mentioned, Stroytransgaz, a key partner of Russian energy giant Gazprom.

Stroytransgaz is building a compressor station for the South Stream gas pipeline on the territory of Russia.

Austrian Strabag told mediapool.bg that it was interested in the project.

Glavbolgarstroy and Energoremont Holding also confirmed that they were interested in participating in the scheme as part of tie-ins.

The procedure to select a contractor for the construction of the Bulgarian section of the South Stream gas pipeline was opened on October 31, 2013.

The estimated cost of the project is EUR 3.5 B.

On October 31, 2013 the ceremony of welding the first joint of South Stream's Bulgarian section took place near the Rasovo compressor station site.

The candidates were given a deadline by 3 pm on November 15 to submit letters of intent to participate in the tender.

The procedure will be held in two stages – a selection stage, during which the candidates will be evaluated on the basis of their compliance with the tender criteria, and a second stage during which the approved companies will be given tender documents and will be able to file bids.

The deadlines for the two stages have not been specified by the contracting authority, South Stream Bulgaria, which is controlled by Gazprom and the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), which hold equal stakes.

The contractor is to build the terminal at the Black Sea beach Pasha Dere near Varna, which will connect the land section of the South Stream gas pipeline to its sea section, the 540km pipeline section to the Serbian border, a 60km digressing pipe to compressor station Provadia, and three compressor stations near Varna, Lozen, and Rasovo.

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