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20.11.2013 16:54- Bulgarian energy minister Dragomir Stoinev (right) meets Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller on October 31 in Sofia
© Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Energy
The tender procedure for choosing the main contractor for the Bulgarian stretch of gas pipeline project South Stream was terminated and should be restarted any time soon, an announcement on the website of South Stream. The estimated cost of the deal is EUR 3.5 billion.
Competition obstacles
The short period for submitting applications was the main reason for restarting the procedure. Candidates had just 15 days to submit their papers, as the procedure was launched on October 31 following the visit of Gazprom’s CEO Alexey Miller in Sofia and the first sod of the pipeline on Bulgarian soil.
The extremely short application period gave ground for doubts that the outcome of the tender might have been predefined. What is more, all activities for the project were summed up in just one procedure, which eliminated the possibility for candidates to compete for each individual activity.
New construction technique set to preserve Pasha Dere beach area
Meanwhile, South Stream Transport, the company which will build the underwater part of the pipeline crossing the Black Sea, published the findings of its environmental impact assessment (EIA).
Earlier this year, local citizens expressed their concerns over the effects of pollution and noise from the construction and operation of South Stream that their community and local environment would suffer. Pasha Dere beach, the place where the pipeline will emerge from the sea onshore, became the object of a heated debate over environmental implications of the construction process. As part of the EIA, South Stream Transport has developed an alternative construction method. Instead of burying the pipeline under the beach, four micro-tunnels will be used to install the 4 pipelines underground. The tunnels, with a diameter of 2.4 metres, will pass approximately 20 metres below the beach, without any construction or digging works taking place at the surface.
The environmental assessment was approved earlier in October by Bulgaria’s environmental ministry thus paving the way for construction works to kick off.
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