A consortium of Saudi Arabia's Arkad Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. and an Swiss-based unit, Arkad ABB SpA, was picked to build the gas pipeline, part of a grid upgrade designed to help transfer Russian gas from Turkey to central Europe, according to Bulgartransgaz, the state-owned gas grid operator.
The group offered to build the pipeline for as much as 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion), depending on the construction timeline, Bloomberg reported.
Gazprom Export and Switzerland’s MET Group have booked capacity through the new route for 20 years, Bulgartransgaz CEO Vladimir Malinov said.
Bulgaria plans to connect its grid to a potential second leg of the Turkish Stream link between Russia and Turkey and transfer gas to Serbia.