Construction to expand Bulgaria's domestic pipeline network remains firmly on schedule, clearing the way for a major strategic transit route designed to pump liquefied natural gas from Greek maritime ports directly to Ukraine, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced Thursday.
The transit initiative, known as the Vertical Gas Corridor, links the pipeline networks of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine. Backed by the United States and the European Commission, the transnational artery repurposes the legacy Trans-Balkan pipeline network into a reverse-flow network.
This configuration will allow the continuous distribution of non-Russian gas alternatives, particularly shipments of American LNG, throughout Central and Southeastern Europe.
"Bulgaria is fulfilling its commitments," Mr. Radev said during a joint press briefing in Sofia with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. "The Vertical Corridor is being implemented on schedule; we have completed the infrastructure works in southern Bulgaria and expansion activities are actively underway across northern Bulgaria."
As part of the regional energy overhaul, Mr. Radev confirmed that Sofia is moving to upgrade the existing Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) pipeline, expanding its annual throughput capacity from 3 billion to 5 billion cubic meters by the end of the year.
The high-level talks also focused on broader regional trade networks aimed at bypassing the heavily congested Bosporus Strait.
Mr. Radev expressed Bulgaria’s intent to secure a management stake in the northern Greek port of Kavala, a key node in a proposed Greek-Bulgarian rail freight corridor designed to link the Aegean Sea to Black Sea and Danube shipping ports.
Mr. Mitsotakis noted that while a joint investment model makes long-term economic sense, final approval hinges on the private investment consortia that currently lease the Greek port infrastructure.