The current pre-qualification is the second, following a contract notice on construction of Albanian roads and bridges issued on 15 April 2014. In addition to the pipeline construction, the contract will include the construction of 32 block-valve stations along the route.
Construction of the pipeline is planned to start in 2016 and will be split into five lots – three in Greece and two in Albania. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline’s (TAP) highest elevation will be 1,800 m in Albania, and the pipeline will cross many roads and rivers.
Companies interested in being pre-qualified for the onshore pipeline construction contract need to request a pre-qualification questionnaire from TAP no later than 26 May 2014.
Only a selected number of companies that have completed the pre-qualification will be invited to participate in the tendering stages of the TAP’s procurement process for the onshore pipeline construction.
TAP Procurement Director Knut Steinar Kvindesland said “This is one of the largest contracts that TAP plans to award. The selection of potential suppliers will be rigorous. A key requirement that our contractors must meet are the highest standards on health, safety and environment and commitment to TAP’s “÷zero harm’ policy.”
TAP’s engineering, procurement, and construction contractors will be responsible for further securing of additional subcontractors to implement specific parts of the contract assignments, and thereby creating additional employment and economic opportunities in the region.
The next contract notice to be issued by TAP in the coming weeks will be the pre-qualification of companies for the construction of compressor stations.
The pre-qualification of companies for the Italian onshore pipeline section will be announced at a later stage, as part of another contract notice.
The 870 km TAP pipeline will transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan to Europe. It will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) near the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.
TAP will promote the economic development and job creation along the pipeline route, and will be a major source of foreign direct investment and it is not dependent on grants or subsidies. With first gas sales to Georgia and Turkey targeted for late 2018, first deliveries to Europe will follow approximately a year later.
TAP’s shareholding is comprised of BP (20%), SOCAR (20%), Statoil (20%), Fluxys (16%), Total (10%), E.ON (9%) and Axpo (5%).