Bulgartransgaz receives state guarantees on a loan for the expansion of the gas transmission infrastructure
The Council of Ministers approved the issuance of state guarantees in 2025 under new loan agreements of Bulgartransgaz EAD in the amount of up to the currency equivalent of BGN 625 million. They are for financing the investment project "Expansion of the gas transmission infrastructure of Bulgartransgaz EAD for implementation of the Vertical Corridor initiative of the gas transmission operators of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine and Moldova". It provides the possibility of transferring additional volumes of natural gas, subject to compliance with the legislation in the field of state aid.
The projects are "Increasing the natural gas transmission capacity at the Kulata/Sidirokastro interconnection point in the direction from Greece to Bulgaria"; "Increasing the natural gas transmission capacity at the Negru Voda/Kardam interconnection point in the direction from Bulgaria to Romania" and "High-pressure gas transmission infrastructure to supply consumers in the East Mariski region".
With the implementation of these projects, it is planned to increase the interconnection capacities from Greece to Bulgaria and from Bulgaria to Romania. They are of key importance for the overall vision for the implementation of the Vertical Gas Corridor concept, which aims to develop the possibilities for two-way transmission of natural gas between the Republic of Greece, the Republic of Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Ukraine, Moldova, which joined in early 2024 and Slovakia.
Through the implementation of the third project, it will be possible to use the added capacity from the implementation of the previous two projects for the development of the internal gas transmission network and will provide access to a wider range of consumers to natural gas. The project will create conditions for the introduction of lower-emission fuels into the energy mix, a significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from thermal power plants and other energy consumers. The new infrastructure will be intended for use by all willing users, incl. coal-fired thermal power plant.
As specified, the government's decision to approve is within the budget procedure for 2025. The ministries had to submit their proposals by April 15, 2024. The Ministry of Finance has received one proposal from the Ministry of Energy.