The gas transmission operators of Bulgaria and Romania, Bulgartransgaz and Transgaz, will sign a contract with Austria’s Habau PPS Pipeline Systems SRL for the construction of the section of a gas interconnection under the Danube river.

The signing ceremony will take place on Wednesday afternoon in Sofia, Bulgaria’s Energy Ministry announced on Tuesday.

Bulgartransgaz and Transgaz are jointly implementing the project which aims to diversify their gas supply sources and routes. The two companies have been granted up to EUR 8.9 M for project financing under the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR).

In February, Habau won a tender for the construction of the underwater section of the gas interconnector. It is proposing to build the section, which will be approximately two kilometers long, within 119 workdays at a cost of  EUR 4.577 M free of VAT, according to capital.bg.